Golden Lights
by SilverLady
Summary: Life is never the same after Lord Trowa purchases his new slave, a blond boy named Quatre.
1. Chapter One

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part One

By SilverLady

The market place was full of sights, sounds and smells. Brightly colored stalls full of the strange and not so strange. Shouting men hawking their wares, each trying to catch the attention of passers-by.  The odors of cooking foods mingled with the smell of animals, giving the air a unique scent that was pleasant and yet not. 

Crowds of people pushed through the narrow street, each one intent on their own destination. There were a few who strolled, glancing at the items for sale in the different stands. These people were usually more richly dressed than most, obviously the upper class of the city who had time to look at things.

Trowa leaned heavily on his friend, Heero, as they walked through the market. They were both members of the upper class and had plenty of time to just look, usually. Today, though, they had a certain destination in mind and so paid little attention to the shouting traders.

Heero cut a swath through the crowd, making sure there was enough room for Trowa and glaring at those who didn't move fast enough to suit him. Those who were unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of one of his glares moved on quickly, though. Heero wasn't someone to trifle with and most knew it. Those who didn't usually learned fast enough.

"Are you sure we'll be there in time?" Trowa asked.

"Of course," Heero replied. He'd been surprised when Trowa had asked him to accompany him to the market. He'd been even more surprised when he'd found out why.

Heero and Trowa had known each other for years and Heero counted the quiet man among his few friends. He had been one of the few that had supported Trowa after his accident and had been the one to persuade Trowa that it wasn't the end of the world. Out of that had come a friendship that had only strengthened with time.

"Why didn't you bring Duo with you?" Trowa asked. Duo was Heero's personal manservant and he rarely went anywhere without the youth. Trowa often suspected there was more there than either let on, but he'd never asked. What the two did was their own business. Besides, he didn't want to find out he was wrong. Heero deserved some happiness, there had been precious little of it in his life.

"I didn't think he would like where we are going."

"Oh, I suppose not." Suddenly Trowa winced as a sharp pain lanced up his left leg.

Heero saw the wince. "Are you okay?" he demanded, stopping to look at Trowa.

  
"I'm fine. It's just a twinge. I'm used to it."

Deep blue eyes studied him for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now let's get going before all the good ones are taken."

*****

Ten minutes later Heero shoved his way through another crowd of people to a couple of seats near the front. This crowd was different than the ones in the street outside. They were all well dressed, rich merchants and landowners looking for new labor to work in their factories and fields.

"Are you sure you want to be here?" Heero asked as he took his seat next to Trowa. "You could have asked for a private showing. Andril would have been happy to oblige."  
  


"Then I would have to have wait nearly two weeks. I already asked. He said he's very busy this time of year.  The latest prisoners from the wars in the south just came in and the landowners are getting ready to put in their crops and need all the cheap labor they can find."

Heero looked at Trowa a minute before nodding. He still couldn't believe Trowa had decided to buy a slave.

*****

For the next two hours they sat and watched as various slaves were brought out to be sold. Though Trowa looked more closely at several, he had yet to bid on a single one.

"And now, fine sirs," the auctioneer said. "I bring you a special surprise. From the far off sands of Arbiria a fine specimen of young manhood."

Trowa sighed, but became much more interested when the next slave was brought out. He'd never seen anyone who looked quite like this youth. Apparently several others felt the same way, as they leaned forward to get a better look. 

The youth was small and somewhat delicate looking, with golden hair that shone in the sunlight. His blue-green eyes were wide and frightened as he looked back at the crowd staring at him. It was obvious this was no slave meant for the fields. This was one to be paraded before men with exotic tastes.

Trowa studied him a moment longer. "I want him, " he quietly informed Heero.

"Are you sure? The bidding will go quite high."

"I don't care. He's the one I want."

Heero nodded. If this were Trowa's choice, then come hell or high water, this would be the slave that he would purchase.

"I'll open the bidding at one thousand gold," the auctioneer called out. "Do I have one thousand gold?"

"One thousand," a voice called out.

"Two," another voice shouted.

As Heero had predicted the bidding did go quite high on the little blond, but in the end he was triumphant. 

"That's a lot of money to pay for a single slave," he commented as they made their way to the office to pay for Trowa's newly acquired possession.

Trowa shrugged. "It's not like I can't afford it." Trowa's father had died in the same accident that had left him practically crippled and had left everything to Trowa. "I have more money than I could possibly spend in my lifetime."

Heero glared. "That's not the point and you know it. Why a slave at all and why this one in particular?"

Trowa shrugged again. "I didn't like the idea of those men drooling over him. You know what they wanted him for."

"A Vamir," Heero replied bluntly. The Vamir were the slaves that served in the whorehouses on the east side of town that catered to those with exotic and expensive tastes. Supposedly they had been named after a king in the southlands who'd had unusual sexual tastes and had accumulated a varied collection of slaves to meet those tastes.

Trowa nodded but said nothing. 

*****

The young boy looked up fearfully as the door opened. He'd learned quickly that bad things often happened when the door opened, especially since food was usually just shoved through a small hole in the door.

He blinked back tears as bright light flooded into the room. Not all the tears were from the light in his eyes, though. "Get out here, boy," a surly voice called. "Your new master is here."

He rose to his feet and shuffled his way to the door, moving as fast as he dared with his hands and feet both shackled.

"Why is he shackled?" an unknown voice demanded. It was deep and hard. The owner was obviously used to getting his own way in things.

"It's the practice…." The slave master began.

"Remove them at once."

"Yes, sire."  
  


Within a moment the shackles had been removed and the boy sighed in relief. It had been a long time since he'd been free of those hateful chains, except for the time he'd been paraded before all of those horrible men.

"What is your name?" a third voice asked softly.

The boy looked up to find two young men watching him. One leaned heavily on the other, his face half cloaked by a long shock of rich brown hair. The eye that he could see was deep green, like the forests high in the mountains in his homeland.  The other stood tall and strong, his deep blue eyes cold and assessing as they looked him over. Thick, almost black, hair tumbled carelessly into his eyes.

"You were asked a question," the slave master said angrily. "Answer him quick."

"Quatre."

He flinched when he saw the hand raised toward him. He was surprised when the dark haired boy's hand snapped forward and grabbed the man's wrist. "He is no longer yours," he spoke, his voice seemingly even colder than before. "You will no longer raise your hand to him. Understand."

"But, sire, he must be taught how to behave."

"That is no longer your concern," the other boy said softly, his voice quiet but just as firm as his companion's. He looked at Quatre, studying him for a moment. "Quatre, I am Trowa and this is my friend, Heero. I am your new owner and you are to do what I say. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Quatre looked downward as he spoke. Was this how Abdul and the others had felt around him? As if his life was no longer his own.

"Excellent. Follow me." With that Trowa turned and headed out.

Quatre noticed how badly Trowa limped, using Heero as a sort of support. _What had happened to hurt him so badly? he wondered to himself. __And what kind of a master would he be? Oh, Great One, I want to go home. Tears sprang unbidden to his eyes as he thought of home and the people there. He missed them all, even Carlia, who was a pain and often tried to get him to marry her. Now marriage to Carlia didn't seem so bad._


	2. Chapter Two

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Two

By SilverLady

Twenty minutes later Quatre found himself going through a set of ornate doors into a large courtyard. In the center of the courtyard was a thing of wonder to him; a fountain spraying water high into the air. There were also more plants than he had ever seen in one place. 

A door on the other side of the courtyard opened and a young man stepped out. He was dressed in a simple shirt and pants that were plain in both color and material.  Thick honey colored hair was pulled back into a long braid.

As he got closer Quatre found himself being closely studied by blue-violet eyes that were full of curiosity and intelligence.

The boy smiled as he looked at Heero. "Welcome home," he said quietly. His voice was deep and husky. "I wasn't expecting you to bring back a guest. There aren't any rooms ready at the moment but it…."  
  


Heero held up his hand and the boy fell silent. "He's not a guest."

An eyebrow arched in surprise. "No?"

"He's mine," Trowa informed him, his voice firm. "I want you to show him to the room and then have him cleaned up and dressed. When he's ready you can bring him to the inner courtyard."

Trowa turned to Quatre. "This is Duo. He will show you where you will sleep and what your duties will be. You are to do what he tells you. Any disobedience will be reported to me."

Duo looked at Heero for a moment. Suddenly, Heero's reason for not taking him with them today became perfectly clear.  _I can't believe Trowa would buy a slave._

Heero looked calmly back, his eyes promising an explanation later.

Slowly Duo nodded. "As you wish," he replied, his voice flat. He glanced at Quatre. "Follow me." Turning he headed back through the double doors.

Quatre hesitated for a moment before following.

*****

The walls of the hallway he found himself in were richly decorated with tapestries, paintings and mosaics. 

After a couple of minutes Duo opened a small, almost hidden door. This door opened into a plain, dimly lit corridor.

 "Do you work for Trowa?" he asked, after a few minutes

Duo glanced back over his shoulder. "I am Heero's personal manservant."

"Oh." Quatre was quiet for a moment. "How did you get that job?"

Duo paused outside of a door. "I am a slave, like you. Heero bought me at the auction a year and a half ago. He is my fifth master."

Quatre blinked in surprise. "What happened to the others?"

Duo gave a small, dangerous smile. "They died."

"I'm sorry."

Duo opened the door. "I'm not. They were bastards. Heero's much nicer." He stepped out of the way, indicating that Quatre was to enter the room.

Quatre found himself in a small sparsely done room. There were two beds and a small desk against the far wall. At the foot of each bed there was a small chest and in each of the walls beside the bed was a door.

Duo indicated the bed on the right. "That one will be yours. You are to keep it made when you're not sleeping in it and all of your clothes are to be in the chest."  
  


"I don't have any clothes."

"We'll take care of it." Duo suddenly blinked and looked at Quatre. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"It's Quatre."

Duo nodded. "See that bell." He pointed to the bell that hung above Quatre's bed.

"Yes."

"Whenever it rings you are to respond, immediately.  It doesn't matter what time of day or night or what state you are in. That ringing means Trowa wants you. You go through that door, " he pointed to the door at the foot of Quatre's bed. "and follow the corridor to the end. Trowa's rooms are beyond the door at the other end."

"Where does the other door go?"

"To Heero's quarters." He walked back out the door. "Follow me."

After walking a short ways down the hall, they entered another small room. In the center of the room was a long table with benches down both sides.  On one sidewall were several doors. 

Duo indicated the door in the center of the wall. "The corridor beyond that door leads to the kitchen. We eat here, though. If Trowa requires meals in his rooms this is the way you go to get the food.  The door to the right leads to other areas of the house. You can get pretty much anywhere in the home without being seen. Most people don't know that though. "

He walked across the room and opened the door on the left. "This door goes to the bathing facilities." He opened it and went through.

Quatre found himself in a room with a large tub in the center of it. On the far wall was a long box with several holes in it. "What is that?" he asked, indicating the box.

Duo gave him an odd look. "That's where you…. relieve yourself."

"Really? Not outside?"

"Not here. Takes too long." Duo turned to the tub and did something to a pipe on one side.

To Quatre's amazement, water began pouring out of the pipe and into the tub. "How?"  
  


"Don't you have indoor plumbing?"

Quatre shook his head. "There is little water in my homeland and it must be used sparingly. Also, we travel a great deal and don't really have a permanent home."  
  
"Where do you live?"

"In tents most of the time. Except during the Delmin. Then we live in the caves."

Duo shook his head in disbelief. No wonder the leaders were so determined to conquer the southern people. They obviously need to be taken in hand and taught the proper way to live.

"Get undressed."  
  


Quatre took a step back. "What?"

"Take off your clothes."

"I can't."  
  


Duo sighed. "Look, you can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way those clothes are coming off."

"But why?"

Duo glared at him. "I don't even think your people take baths with their clothes on."

Quatre's eyes widened. "No."

"Then get undressed."

"But you're still here."

Duo huffed. "So?"

"I can't undress in front of you. It isn't proper."

Duo walked over to Quatre and looked him straight in the eye. "You might as well get that idea out of your head right now. You are a slave now and will do what you are told, when you are told. No matter how you personally feel about it. Believe me, undressing in front of people is one of the least things you might be told to do. Some of the things my masters in the past have made me do would turn your stomach.

"Since you are new to this I won't report it to Trowa but I could get you in deep trouble for your refusal. He did say that you were to do what I told you."

Quatre's eyes grew wider with each word Duo spoke, until they seemed to take up his entire face. After a moment he swallowed hard and reached for the tie on his pants. It only took him a minute to undress completely.

Duo looked the boy over with a clinical eye. He made note of the lack of body hair that indicated just how young the boy was. What little hair there was on his body was the same golden color as the hair on his head. The body itself was slender and compact, with the promise of a strength not yet discovered. _He is going to be very beautiful when he grows up. _

He nodded his approval before turning away. He had also noted the body-wide blush and decided to give the young boy a bit of privacy. _Though with his exotic looks he might as well get used to being looked at in this manner.__ I'm sure many of Trowa's compatriots will want to see him. ALL of him.  This was__definitely going to be interesting, he thought._


	3. Chapter Three

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Three

By SilverLady

Quatre sat staring at the wall of the room he would now call home. Duo had told him to sit there and wait for him to return.

Quatre's body was still red, as much from embarrassment as from the through scrubbing Duo had given him. Apparently Duo had found him very dirty.

He couldn't believe that Duo had not only insisted on washing him, a invasion of privacy that would never have been allowed if he had been at home, but that he'd undressed and climbed right in the tub with him. Angil would have fainted if he'd seen that happen.

Tears sprang to his eyes at the thought of home, a place he would probably never see again. Was everyone dead or had some managed to survive the attack? It had come so suddenly and had been so violent that no one had really had any chance to react. 

Maybe someone had survived and was even now searching for him 

"Crying won't change anything," Duo informed him sharply as he walked back into the room, carrying a bundle of clothes. "Be glad you got a decent master."

"But men aren't supposed to own other men," Quatre protested.

Duo's eyes widened. "You'd best never let anyone hear you say that. If you're lucky all they'll do is beat you." He laid the clothes on the bed. "Besides. Things work just fine."

Quatre couldn't believe that Duo could calmly accept his status. "And you call my people barbarians!"

"Living in tents. Hiding in caves. No running water."

"Our freedom. To come and go as we please. With no master but ourselves."

"No one to take care of the weak. Scraping by, barely able to eat."

"Doing what you want. Choosing your own path on the Road of Life."

"Homeless women and children, begging on the streets."

Quatre threw up his hand in exasperation.  "How can you be so complacent?"  
  


"How can you be so naïve?" Duo picked up a shirt. "Put this on. I'm sure Trowa will want you to look your best tonight. I understand several guests are expected."

Quatre snatched the shirt away. _Please, Great One, deliver me from this land of heathens._

Duo nodded as he watched Quatre dress. "Just remember this. Outside this room you are Quatre, slave and the property of Lord Trowa of Batona. You do what you are told, when you are told. Trowa's orders always supercede all others, but any one above you can give you orders. That is just about everyone, since you are new. "

Quatre nodded but said nothing.

Duo turned and headed for the door. "Follow me."

*****

Duo lead Quatre to another richly decorated courtyard. This one had tables and chairs scattered about, either under the shade of trees or the man made shade of a large cloth draped structure. Nearly a dozen men, including Trowa and Heero, lounged about. They had apparently just finished eating.

Duo walked over and bowed to Trowa. "I have done as you commanded."

Trowa nodded as he looked beyond Duo to Quatre. "Excellent. Heero, he is prompt as always."

"I still want to know how you turned that little hellion around," one of the other men said with a shake of his head.

Heero gave a slight smile. "And you will continue to wonder."

"Is this the one the called Shinigami?" a portly looking man asked, looking Duo up and down.

"The one and only."

"Pray tell me who is the other one. I don't believe I've seen him before."

Quatre blinked as the young man that spoke rose to his feet and walked over to him. The man was no taller than he, with black hair pulled back into a tight tail. His skin was golden bronze in color. His eyes were so dark they appeared to be black and had a slight slant to them. His clothing was all white, but of a style Quatre had never seen.

"That's my new purchase," Trowa replied. "I bought him at the slave auction today."

"If I had known they were selling creatures like this I would have gone."

"And still not got him. I was quite willing to pay more than I did."

"How much? I'll double it."

Trowa shook his head. "He's not for sale, at any price."

The man sighed. "To bad. I'd be the talk of the court if I came back with such an exotic creature."

Quatre bite his tongue, trying hard not to say anything. He hated the way they talked about him as if he wasn't even there. _Or too stupid to understand them._

"I'm sure you would be. And earn quite a few points in your father's book as well, right Wufei," Heero commented dryly.

Wufei laughed. "Perhaps." He looked at Duo. "Though that one would sure be worth something." He studied Duo. "Why call him Shinigami? I thought that meant Death God."

"It does. Let's just say that his last two owners didn't live long after buying him."

"He killed them?"

Heero smiled slightly. "So they say. No one ever proved it."

"I would think not. He wouldn't be standing here if they had." Wufei paused. "Did he?"

Heero smiled again. "What do you think?"

"You know?"

"Maybe."

Wufei laughed. "Fine. Keep your secrets. May I see him, though? I've heard stories."

"I'm sure you have." Heero looked at Duo. "Strip."

Duo instantly began to remove his clothes. Within moments he stood before the men, completely naked. 

Quatre didn't know what stunned him more. The fact that Duo had willing bared his body to these men or the way they stared at him.

"Very nice," Wufei commented, returning to his seat. "I can see why you were willing to tame him. Have him take down his hair."

Heero's eyes grew cold. "No."

Wufei blinked at the frost in Heero's voice. "Why not?"

"No one but I ever see his hair loose. Not even Trowa."

Wufei sighed. "Very well." He looked over at Quatre again. "Trowa, why don't you show us what you got? I'm curious to see if he really all he appears to be."

Trowa looked at him for a moment. "Quatre, remove your clothes."

Quatre stared at him. "Wh….what?"

Trowa stared at him. "I said strip. Now."

Quatre's mouth fell open in shock. Bare his body to these strangers. 

Trowa's eyes grew hard. "Now. Or Duo will do it for you." There was a threat in the tone that promised Duo wouldn't make it a pleasant experience.

"Need to work on training him properly," Wufei commented.

"Duo…." Before Trowa could say any more, Quatre was reaching for his shirt. Two minutes later he had removed all of his clothing. He instinctively began to cover himself with his hands.

"Hands behind your back," Trowa snapped. Quatre quickly complied.

Wufei nodded. "Very nice. I'm sure he will be quite impressive once he is properly trained."

"That is the inherent problem in purchasing a slave brought in from the south lands," Trowa commented. "I think he will be worth it, though."

"I could work with him…. It wouldn't take long."

"No, thank you. I would prefer to do it myself."

"More's the pity."

Trowa laughed slightly. "For you, perhaps."

"True." Wufei looked at Quatre again. "At least there is no denying he is truly blond. Such an unusual coloring."

"With hair like golden light," one of the other men, who had been silent during the exchange, commented.

Wufei turned to him. "Pardon?"

"It's from a poem I read once. That's the only line I can recall though."

"Quite descriptive." Wufei turned back. "If you ever consider selling him."

"You'll be the second person to know," Trowa promised him solemnly.

"And who will be the first?'

"Me."

Wufei laughed. "Very true."

Just then several scantly clad women walked into the courtyard. They all carried trays of various sweets. 

Trowa looked at Quatre for a moment. "Duo, take him back to the room."

Duo glanced at Heero, who nodded slightly. "Then report to my room. It needs cleaning."

"Yes, master." Duo gathered up his clothing and turned to leave.

Slowly Quatre reached for his own clothing, then followed Duo.

"You did it this time," Duo whispered as soon as they were out of hearing.

Quatre swallowed hard, but said nothing.


	4. Chapter Four

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Four

By SilverLady

Heero was silent as he followed Trowa into his room. Trowa was limping badly, a sure sign that he was tired. Yet, as long as he was in the house, he rarely asked Heero for help. It was a fact that often had Heero wondering what was really running through his friend's mind. He would have thought it would be the other way around.

"So, what are you going to do?" he asked, sitting in one of the chairs.

Trowa sat down on the sofa opposite him. "About what?"

"The new slave."

"What about him?"

"He should have done what you told him the first time. You have to show him that he no longer has any say in what he does. You are the master of his destiny now. "

Trowa closed his eyes. He knew that Heero was right, that the only way to ensure obedience was to correct problems quickly.  And yet… "And what do you suggest I do?"

"A good lashing would set things straight, quick. You have to show these barbarians who is boss."

Trowa shuddered at the thought of marking that beautiful body with whip scars. "No. Nothing that will scar."

Heero nodded slightly. He should have known Trowa would say something like that. Trowa had never liked scars on anything, especially since he had so many himself. "I have something that you can use. I used it several times on Duo before he got the hint."

Trowa looked at Heero in surprise. "You will not touch him."

Heero blinked. "Of course not." He rose to his feet. "I'll be right back." He quickly walked out of the room.

Trowa frowned as he reached down to massage his left leg. There was no telling what Heero might bring back. 

Sighing a bit in frustration he worked on the aching muscles. He had overdone it today, in more than one way. He should have never walked to the slave market for one thing. His leg was hurting so badly, he knew it would take hours for him to go to sleep. 

Plus, he really should have waited a few days to show Quatre to his friends. It would have been better to break him a little before throwing him if front of that group. He had hoped that Duo would have briefed the boy enough to ensure a better reaction from him. He hadn't wanted to embarrass the boy, but he really hadn't expected him to react the way he had. Why were the Southlanders so embarrassed by the sight of a naked body? It was a sight to be appreciated and admired, not hidden away.

Just then Heero walked back into the room. "If you don't want to leave any scars, use this."

Trowa blinked. It looked like a board. "It looks like a board."

"It is. If you don't want to whip him, spanking works just as well. This way you won't hurt your hand."

"But won't it hurt him?"

Heero placed the thin board on the sofa next to Trowa and sat down on the floor in front of him. Reaching out he began to knead the muscles in Trowa's leg. "Of course. That's the idea." He frowned at the tightness of the muscles beneath his hands. "You overdid it."

"I know." Trowa leaned back and allowed Heero to work on his leg. "You really think its necessary?"

"You have to teach him quick. You let him get away with something once and he'll do it again."

"Was Duo really that difficult?"

Heero smiled as he remembered the wild boy he'd bought. "Worse. There is a point when discipline becomes abuse. Too many of his former masters went way beyond that point. I wanted to show him that I was in charge without hurting him too badly. It seems to have worked."

"Did he really kill them?"

"They don't call him Shinigami without reason."

"Did he try to kill you?"

Heero nodded. "He was very much like a wild animal when I bought him. It took time to train him. But like any well trained animal it was worth it."

Trowa remembered that Heero had been away for several months after he'd purchased Duo. "It took you quite a while to break him, didn't it?"

Heero shook his head. "I didn't break him, I trained him. There is a difference. I taught him to obey without breaking his spirit. Duo without his spirit would be worthless. The other's didn't understand that."

"And that is what you're suggesting I do with Quatre."

"Yes. I'll help you as much as you want me to, but in the end its up to you on how you want to handle him. I do think he needs some sort of punishment for his behavior today."

Trowa glanced at the board beside him "Punishment for disobedience, reward for obedience."  
  


"Right. But punishment should be swift, don't let him forget what he's done wrong. Though not too fast. Let him think about what you could do. You might want to vary the punishment, to keep him guessing. After a while he'll make up things in his mind far worse than anything you could do to him."

"And rewards."

"Don't be too generous with them. He is yours, to do with as you please."

"Owning a slave isn't easy, is it?"

"Not if you want a loyal one that would walk through fire for you. Believe me, an unhappy slave is a dangerous one."

Trowa thought about what Heero said for a moment, then nodded. Reaching over he pulled on the rope that would ring the bell in the sleeping quarters. "Hadn't you best go make sure Duo cleaned your room properly?" He stressed the word cleaned a little.

Heero smiled. "I'm sure I should. He still can't seem to make the bed right." Rising to his feet, he headed to the door. "Enjoy."

Trowa laughed softly after Heero had left. "I should be saying that to you."

After a moment a door that was partially hidden by a wall hanging opened and Quatre walked tentatively into the room. "You sent for me?"

Trowa looked calmly at him, waiting.

Quatre blinked. "Master?"

"Come over here."

Quatre walked slowly over to where Trowa sat, giving Trowa plenty of time to admire his purchase. He still wasn't sure what had possessed him to buy the blonde but he was please that he had. He was sure he could have a loyal manservant when he was done with him. Though not in the manner that Duo served Heero.

Finally, Quatre stood before him. Trowa looked him over calmly for a minute, causing the boy to fidget nervously. "You were disobedient tonight," Trowa finally said.   
  


Quatre blinked in surprise. "Master?" he choked out. He hated having to address this man in such a manner. Why had this happened to him?

"I gave you an order. You are to obey any order I give immediately, without question. But I found myself having to repeat the order three times before you obeyed. Didn't Duo explain things to you?"

"Yes, Master."

"And yet you ignored what he told you. Why was that?"

Quatre swallowed. "It isn't right to bare yourself before strangers!" he blurted out.

Trowa looked at the blonde and hardened his heart. "It doesn't matter what you think or feel. You will do what I tell you to. You're only duty from this moment on is to serve me and my wishes. Is that understood?"

Quatre looked downward. "But…."

"Is that understood?" Trowa's voice was cold and hard.

"Yes, Master," Quatre whispered.

Trowa nodded. "Good. We'll start your training now. Bring me that stool." He indicated the low stool that was on the other side of the room.

Quatre began to turn when Trowa's voice stopped him. "Before you do, strip. Until I say so you are not to be clothed in my presence. That is the first part of your punishment for disobeying me today."

Quatre immediately began to remove his clothing. He didn't want to find out what would happen if he were slow about doing so.

When he was completely nude he walked over to fetch the stool Trowa had indicated.  Trying to hide the blush he could feel rising in his cheeks, he brought it to Trowa.

"Place it here." Trowa commanded, indicating the spot before him.

Quatre place the stool where he was told.

"Much better. I think you are beginning to learn. However, there is the matter of your slow response earlier." Trowa paused as if in thought. "Lay across the stool, face down."

Quatre did as he was told, trembling in fear at what Trowa might have planned for him. Although he'd never lain with another person, he did know the basics. Angil had warned him that there were men who would try and take advantage of him. He hadn't quite believe it was possible for two men to do such a thing, until Angil had described, in very vivid detail, just how such a thing was possible.

Trowa admired the view before him for a moment, then picked up the board that Heero had left him. Without any warning he brought it down on Quatre's bared buttocks.

Quatre jumped when the board connected, as much because of the resounding crack as the pain. The first hit was rapidly followed by a series of stinging hits, no two falling in exactly the same place. Tears ran down his cheeks as he sobbed in pain and humiliation. 

Finally, after about thirty or so hits, Trowa stopped. He looked at the now red bottom before him for a moment before he spoke. "Stand up."

Quatre rose slowly to his feet. His butt felt as if it was on fire. He couldn't believe that this man had just spanked him.

Trowa watched the play of emotions on Quatre's face. "Now return to your room. You are to sit on the edge of your bed until I ring the bell. When it rings you may go to bed, but not before then. While you are sitting there I want you to think about what I said." 

"Yes, Master," Quatre choked out. He carefully made his way to the door.

"Slave." Trowa spoke up.

Quatre paused. "Master?"

"And I mean sit on the bed."

"Yes, Master." Moving slowly, he walked out of the room.

Trowa waited until he was gone before sighing and leaning back. He hoped he never had to do that again.


	5. Chapter Five

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Five

By SilverLady

Quatre sat on the bed, rocking slowly and sobbing quietly. Even though he hurt dreadfully, he dared not move, afraid that Trowa would send someone to check on him. He was sure that he would look for any excuse to hit him some more. 

He could not believe the cruelty of these people. To deliberately hit someone simply because he refused to do some so crude as to bare himself in public. They had the nerve to call his people stupid barbarians, when this kind of treatment was not only allowed, but also expected.

He would have never asked one of the servants in his father's home to do such a thing. And he certainly wouldn't punish them for refusing. The people who worked for his father were treated with respect, a concept that was apparently foreign in this 'civilized' city. 

After what seemed like forever, but was probably no more than half an hour, the bell above his bed rang once. 

With a choked sob Quatre immediately flung himself across the bed, curling up on his side and burying his head in the pillow. He didn't even dare get up to get some nightclothes, afraid that he might be punished in some way for doing so. Trowa had commanded him to remain naked until he was given permission to wear clothes again. He wasn't sure exactly what that entailed and he wasn't about to take any chances.

_Oh, Great One, what have I done to deserve such treatment? How have I displeased You? I will do anything You will, just please, deliver me from this torture._

Only silence met his fervent prayers. Quatre felt as if even the spirits had turned their backs on him. 

Pulling his knees up tight against his chest and wrapping his arms around them, Quatre sobbed harder.

*****

"Why didn't you blow out the lamp?" an angry voice demanded, dragging Quatre from the exhausted sleep he'd finally fallen into.

Quatre opened tear-swollen eyes to stare blearily at Duo, who stood in the middle of the small room with his hands on his hips. "What?"

Duo glared at him. "The lamp. It's still burning. Do you know how expensive lamp oil is?  It doesn't just grow on trees."

Quatre blinked. He hadn't even thought about the lamp, burning merrily on the table. "It doesn't?" he asked in confusion.

Duo threw up his hands in disgust. "Don't do it again. When you go to bed, blow out the lamp. Got it?"

He stopped and made note of Quatre's lack of attire and tear streaked face. "What's wrong with you? Is this the way you always sleep?"

"N…nooo." Quatre tried to keep the tears at bay. 

Duo frowned. "What are you crying about now? I told you, all the tears in the world won't change your place."

"Hhhhe….he hit me." Quatre sniffled.

"Who? Trowa?"

"Y..y…yes."

"And?"

Quatre blinked in surprise. "He hit me," he stated, his voice a little stronger.

"So? It couldn't have been too bad. You're not bleeding or anything."

Quatre stared at him, too stunned to say anything. "He spanked me," he finally got out. "With a board. A lot."

Duo turned around and began undressing. "I don't know what else you expected. You not only questioned his order, but you did it in front of his peers. Of course, he's going to beat you for that. You should count yourself lucky. A lot of others would have done much worse to you."

"How can you….."

Duo finished removing his shirt, revealing the long white scars that marred his back. "He could have had you whipped."

Quatre stared at the scars in horror. Someone had deliberately done this to him?

Duo turned around to look at Quatre. "Instead of sobbing like a baby and feeling sorry for yourself, you should be thanking whatever gods you pray to for giving you Trowa for a master. If it hadn't been for him, you'd probably be on your knees sucking some guy's cock right now. Or having some guy tie you up and beat you, just because it turns him on. I've been there. It's not fun. Trowa is a good guy and a decent master. If he punishes you, it's because you did something wrong. And the punishment will never exceed the crime."

"He told me I had to go naked until he says other wise." There was indignation in Quatre's voice.

Duo nodded, leaning into his chest to get out a nightshirt. "I don't know what you're complaining about. He probably just wants you to get used to people looking at you. It's cooler besides."

"You don't have to go naked."

Duo smiled slightly. "Heero is a bit possessive. In a nice way. Besides, when we go to the summer home you try to wear as little as possible. It's nothing to have most everyone naked or nearly so. Trowa's the only one who rarely sheds his clothes. I don't think he likes to have people looking at him."

"That's….that's horrible."

"Why? Why be so ashamed of your body?" Duo glanced up. "You have a very nice body."

Quatre gasped in shock. "You looked?!"

"Of course."

"That's awful. Your body is private; to be shared only with the one you share your bed with. Not to be ogled by a bunch of drooling strangers."

Duo walked over to the table. "I suppose you're a virgin, as well."

"Of course," Quatre snapped. "That is only to be shared with your life mate."

Duo blew out the lamp. "I bet the bidding was high for you then," he muttered.  
  


"What? Why?"

"Virgins are worth a lot. I'm sure there were a lot of men there who wanted to be the one to take your virginity."

Quatre's eyes grew wide with shock. Even in the near darkness, Duo could see that. "Men don't do that."

"What do you think most of the other bidders intended for you? I bet a great many of them run the brothels on the east side. They would have loved to add an exotic virgin like you to their stable. Hell, I'd say you wouldn't have been a virgin very long. Though the exotic looks would have continued to fetch some high prices."

"You mean….homosexuals?" Quatre whispered the last word. Angil had used that word in describing the facts of life to him. But he had said that such a thing was wicked and sinful. Men were only meant to lay with women, so as to get children to carry on their bloodlines.

Duo laughed. "I'd say you have a lot to learn, little one." With that he rolled over and went to sleep.

Quatre could only stare into the dark. Truly things could not get worse. He couldn't believe how calmly Duo accepted the horrible things that were allowed to be done in this place. Surely the Great One would come and smite them all for their wickedness.


	6. Chapter Six

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Six

By SilverLady

Quatre sighed and rolled over in his sleep. He was dreaming that he was racing across the desert sands on Shadar, his favorite horse. The wind was blowing the mane back into his face. He loved this; it made him feel so free.

He couldn't understand, though, why Shadar was wearing bells on his halter. It seemed rather strange. His people really preferred to move as quietly as possible, even when riding in fun.

Suddenly he was shaken, hard. "Hey! Wake up!" a voice intruded his dream.

"Go away," he mumbled. "It's too early to get up, Angil."

He was shaken again, pulling him out of the dream and into the nightmare that his life had become. He found himself staring into a pair of violet eyes. "What?"

Duo sighed and straightened up. "You need to get up. Trowa's been ringing for you for the past five minutes at least."

Quatre blinked. The bells in his dreams. That's what they really were. He blinked again. "Up?"

"He is probably looking for breakfast. You'd best go find out what he wants though. After yesterday, you don't want to make him mad again."

Slowly Quatre rose to his feet. He started to reach for the clothes lying on the chest at the end of the bed. Then he remembered the orders he'd been given last night. Trying to keep from blushing, knowing that Duo was probably watching, he went through the door that led to Trowa's quarter's.

*****

Moving softly, Quatre let himself into the room. At first glance there was no sign of Trowa anywhere. "Master?" he called quietly, wincing at the word even as he said it.

"Here," Trowa spoke up. His voice was coming from the room beyond.

Quatre walked swiftly across the room, finding himself entering a large, lavishly decorated bedroom. Trowa was sitting up in a huge four-poster bed. The bed was draped in yards of what appeared to be silk, with a large thick comforter on it.

"Since this is your first full day, I will excuse you your lateness. But if it happens again, you will be punished. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master," Quatre whispered, walking up to the bed.

Trowa looked him over and nodded. "You are to go and fetch my breakfast and bring it back to the terrace. You can get to it through those doors." He indicated the doors at the far end of the room. "But first I want you to run my bath. The bathroom is through there." He pointed to the door on the sidewall.

Quatre blinked.  Run a bath? How was he supposed to do that? "Master?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Trowa sounded slightly annoyed. 

"I don't know anything about running a bath, Master. Your bathing facilities are nothing like those in my homeland."  
  


"How do you bathe?"

"In what ever water source we come across, usually." Quatre paused. "Master," he added.

Trowa frowned. "Very well. I'll have Duo show you how to work the bath. For now, just go and fetch my breakfast."

"Yes, Master." Quatre turned to leave.

Trowa's voice stopped him. "One thing. You may wear clothing when you leave this area. But only then."

"Yes, Master."

*****

Heero was sitting on the sofa when Trowa walked out of the bedroom. He'd run his own bath that morning, which wasn't really that big of a deal. He usually did it anyway.

"Things go all right last night?" Heero asked.

Trowa shrugged. "They appear to have. I'll just have to wait and see."

Heero nodded. Duo had reported that he'd found Quatre crying when he'd returned to the room the night before. "Where is he now?"

"He should be returning with my breakfast." Trowa sighed. "I need to borrow Duo for a while, later."  
  


Heero's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"He's going to have to show him how to work the bath. Apparently, he's never used one before."

Heero shuddered. "Where do they wash?"

"Wherever they find water."

Heero made a face. "That's disgusting."  
  


"I agree."

Just then the door opened and Quatre walked in, carefully carrying a tray of food. Trowa nodded slightly, noting that Quatre had taken the time to stop and remove his clothing. "Take it outside. I'll be there momentarily."

"Yes, Master." Quatre tried to ignore the two men watching him as he walked across the room.

Heero nodded approvingly as Quatre disappeared into the other room. "Very nice. You definitely got a good one there. I don't blame you for wanting him naked."

"It's part of his punishment. I figured he might as well get used to being looked at. He seems rather ashamed of his body."

Heero shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know why."

The door opened a second time and Duo walked in. Unlike Quatre, he walked with quiet confidence. He knew exactly what was expected and how far he could push. "I figured since you weren't in your room, you'd be here."

"We're eating outside."

Duo nodded. "Fine. Did he make it back?"

"Yes. He's out there now."

"I wasn't too sure there. He had no idea what to tell the cook. It's a good thing I was there or who knows what you might have wound up with."

"Thank you," Trowa told him.

"You have a job this morning," Heero informed him.  
  


"What?"

"Show Quatre how to work the bath."

Duo laughed softly. "That's right. He had no clue what it was last night. I didn't even think to show him how to operate it. I'll teach him up right. Anything else you want me to show him at the same time?"

"Not at the moment. I'm sure something will come up though."

"Probably." Duo smiled as he headed through the door and into the other room.

*****

After Trowa was satisfied that Quatre had brought a decent breakfast, he dismissed him. He informed him that, after cleaning and straightening the bedroom, he wanted Quatre to meet with Duo.

Quatre stood staring at the room. He wasn't certain exactly what Trowa expected him to do. He tried to remember what Angil had done after he got up in the morning, but nothing came to mind. Usually the morning ritual consisted of packing everything up to move on. They had rarely stayed in one place for long.

Walking across the room he stared at the large bed. The covers were obviously in disarray, but Quatre wasn't sure how they were supposed to be. He was afraid to ask, though. There was no telling what Trowa's reaction might be.

After a fifteen-minute struggle Quatre was ready to give up. He was sweating and breathing heavily and the bed now looked even worse then when he'd started. The pillows were the only things that might be close to the right position. One sheet seemed to be too wide for the bed and the other didn't seem to fit at all. There were at least three blankets and none of them seemed to be right. The thick comforter that had been bunched at the end of the bed was now laying the floor. It was so large and thick that nothing Quatre did to it seemed to move it much.

"What, exactly, are you doing?" a voice asked behind him.

Quatre spun around to find Duo standing in the doorway. "Straightening the bed," Quatre answered.

Duo was amazed that he could say that with a straight face. "Is that what they call it?"

Quatre looked back at the bed. "It's not very good though."

"You could definitely say that."

"I don't know why you have to have so many things on this. And none of them fit right."

Duo walked over to the bed. He couldn't believe just how badly Quatre had messed up the bed. He knew Trowa was not that restless a sleeper. "Well, for starters, that sheet tucks around the mattress."

Quatre looked perplexed. "Why?"

"Don't tell me. You don't have beds either."

"They would be difficult to move."

"What do you sleep on?"

"Depends on your status. The poorer people just sleep on the ground."

Duo sighed. It was obvious to him that it was going to take more time then Trowa had thought to train this guy up right. _Maybe he should think about sending him to Mandira. "All right. Watch me. I'll show you how to do this." He paused. "I don't suppose you made your own bed, have you."_

Quatre blinked. "No. I'm supposed to do that?"

"I told you that yesterday."

Quatre ran the conversation from yesterday through his head. "I guess you did."

Duo hung his head. "You need to pay attention. If you don't you're going to find yourself on the receiving end of that board a lot more."

Quatre shuddered, remembering the pain and humiliation he'd suffered the night before. He wanted to avoid that as much as possible. "I will."

"Okay. First you take this sheet...."

Quatre moved closer to watch as Duo began to make the bed.

*****

It was late that night before Quatre climbed into his own bed. After showing him how to make a bed and run a bath, Duo had decided that he had a lot of other things he needed to know and had proceeded to show him. Twice. After doing Trowa's, Duo had dragged him to Heero's quarters and made him help there.

Finally, after what seemed a horribly long time, Duo had deemed them done for the day and sent him on his way. He'd barely entered the small bedroom when the bell began to ring, summoning him to Trowa's.  

Apparently in helping Duo, Quatre had managed to mislay several important documents. Trowa had made him search the entire room for them, which had taken nearly two hours. Quatre was just glad that Trowa had not deemed it a punishable offense and beaten him for it. He knew that if he did it again, he would be.

Burying his face in his pillow, Quatre struggle to hold the tears at bay. He was exhausted and homesick. All he wanted to do was sleep, so that for a little while at least he could forget how awful his life had become. The only thing that had kept him going since his capture was the hope that someone would come and save him.

_Great One, please send help soon. I don't know how much longer I can last. If this is one of Your tests, let it be done soon. I have truly learned any lesson You have wished to teach me._

With a soft sob, Quatre closed his eyes and went to sleep.

*****

The next two weeks passed in a blur of endless days and too short nights. Duo was a hard taskmaster, pushing new chores on Quatre constantly, insisting that they were things he must learn in order to please his new master.

Master. It was a word he was growing to hate. If Duo wasn't finding something for him to do, Trowa would come up with something he need done. And always immediately, never in a few minutes or whenever you get to it. Now.

He was on just such an errand at that moment. Trowa had decided that he wanted a specific bottle of wine from the wine cellar and had sent Quatre to fetch it. He was entertaining several guests, including the strange foreign boy, Wufei.

Entering the wine cellar, Quatre stared around in amazement. He'd never seen so many bottles in one place. With a sigh he walked down the aisles. _It's a good thing, Angil taught me to read this language._

He finally found the row with the right kind of wine and began searching for the specific bottle. Trowa had been very exact in which one he wanted, so Quatre knew that returning with a slightly different one would not be acceptable. And with the guests that where there, any mistake would guarantee a beating. Trowa seemed to want to show the others he was in complete control. Which, actually, he was.

He was just reaching for the bottle when he heard voices. Apparently someone else in the large house had decided on wine.

"Did you hear the latest story from the Southlands?"

"No, what?" 

" Some nomad leader named Kadir went up against Lord Jordin. The guy apparently didn't like the terms of the treaty and tried to rebel. His Lordship took care of the problem, though. Killed every one of them. After he made good examples of them. Bet none of the other nomadic groups will try anything now."

"Only good thing for them." There was a pause and the sound of clanking bottles. "Here's what he wanted. Let's go."

Quatre stood staring at nothing. It couldn't be possible. His father, dead. Along with all the others, Angil included. He knew that Angil would follow his father to the end. His last hope of escape was gone forever.

_No. No. No. No. NO!_

It took all of Quatre's willpower to keep from screaming. The nightmare was now complete. It was now obvious to him that even the Great One had turned his back on him.

Very slowly and carefully, he took the bottle from the shelf. He would not allow these horrible people to see his grief. That would only dishonor his father's memory. Moving like the old man he now felt himself to be, he walked out of the room and back towards Trowa's quarters. 

*****

When he returned with the bottle, he found that the murder of his people was the talk amongst the men gathered on Trowa's terrace. 

"They said that fool actually thought he was doing the right thing. That his god would protect him," one man was saying. There was laughter in his voice as he spoke. "Jordin showed him the error of his ways right quick. Made sure he died real slow and with a whole lot of pain."

"Jordin likes doing things the right way," another man said.

Quatre carefully placed the bottle on the table. "Is there anything else, Master?"

Trowa looked at him. "No. You may take the dishes back to the kitchen and then go to your room. If you are needed you will be called."

"Yes, Master." Quatre began to gather up the dishes and silverware.

"Hey, isn't this choice morsel one of those Southerners?" The man that was looking at him had a lecherous look on his face.

"He is," Trowa replied calmly.

"You know that fool, Kadir, boy?"

Quatre continued to gather the dishes. Duo had been very specific about things like this. He was not to speak to anyone except Trowa, unless Trowa gave him permission otherwise.

"I asked you a question, boy."

"You may answer him," Trowa said calmly.

Quatre looked at the man. _How dare he speak about my father? He wasn't fit to clean Father's boots. He's nothing but a fat ridiculous slob. "I have heard of him, Lord."_

"Didn't know him?"

"There is much land in the desert, Lord. Some tribes never see each other."

The man laughed. "Too bad. Bet you're glad you live here now."

Quatre carefully lifted the tray of dishes. "It is the most amazing city I have ever seen, Lord."

"You got that right." He looked at Trowa. "Smart kid. Training him up right smart there."

Trowa inclined his head slightly. "I told you all he needed was proper guidance."

Quatre walked slowly out of the area, tuning out the sound of the voices as they continued talking. As he headed toward the kitchen his eyes kept wandering to the knife lying next to his right hand. 

This was the answer. A way for him to finally get out of the nightmare. He would join his father and his people, riding across the sky with the Great One. 

As he passed through his room on his way to the kitchen, he carefully dropped the knife. Hopefully, Duo would be kept busy tending to Heero until after he returned so that he could hide the knife. If everything went as usual he would have more than enough time before Duo came to bed.

*****

Ten minutes later Quatre sat on the edge of his bed. The knife had been exactly where he dropped it, surely a sign that he was doing the right thing. He had learned the lesson the Great One wanted him to and now it was time to leave.

He had found a set of clothing in the bottom of the chest that would serve his purpose. He would not enter the next world naked, nor did he want to be found in such a state. It was not right.

Picking up the knife, he looked at it for a moment. _Wait for me Father. I shall be with you soon. Great One, protect and guide me through the __Desert__ of __Time__ to the land beyond. Allow me to ride with my people until the end.. _

He closed his eyes and plunged the knife into his chest. There was a deep, blinding pain and then nothing.

With a sigh, his body slumped to the floor.


	7. Chapter Seven

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Seven

By SilverLady

Trowa frowned as he rang the bell again. It had been more than five minutes since he had first called for Quatre and there was still no response. He thought the boy had been getting better at understanding where his duties lay.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked as he walked into the room, followed by Duo. "I know you're not upset the others left so soon."

"No. I've been ringing for Quatre for more than five minutes." He glanced over at Duo. "Could you go and see what's keeping him? It had better be damn good."

Duo nodded and went out through the side door.

Heero watched as Trowa limped over to the sofa. "I thought he was doing well about things."

"He was."

"I don't think he likes Lord Gendar."

"No one with half a mind likes Lord Gendar."

"Then why do you let him come here?"

"He is amusing, in his own loud way. Besides, he makes just about anyone look smart next to him. And Wufei likes to laugh behind his back at him."

"Always the thoughtful host." There was a hint of sarcasm in Heero's voice.

"Of course."

Just then the side door slammed open and Duo burst in, carrying Quatre in his arms. The young blond was limp and still. His delicate face was devoid of color and Duo's hands were stained red with blood. "You need to get a doctor. Now!" he exclaimed.

Heero was on his feet in a flash. "What's wrong?" he demanded already heading for the outside door.

"It looks like he tried to kill himself."

Trowa looked stunned. "Take him into the bedroom."

Duo nodded as he moved across the room. Trowa got to his feet and followed him. "Just put him on the bed."

Duo yanked the bed covers off the bed and carefully laid Quatre on it. "I found a steak knife on the floor next to him, with blood on it. He must have gotten it when he took the dinner dishes back to the kitchen."

Trowa nodded slightly as he stared at the sight in front of him. Quatre's chest and side were covered with dark red blood.  His skin was starkly white in contrast and there didn't seem to be any movement at all coming from the boy. "Is he...alive?"

"Barely." Duo had ripped off a piece of his shirt and was pressing the folded up cloth firmly against the wound in Quatre's chest. "It's hard to tell how deep the knife went."

Trowa was shaken to the core. He couldn't believe that this gentle young man would try and take his own life. He'd begun to enjoy having the softly spoken boy around. He'd even started to wonder if maybe they could become friends. "I don't understand."

Duo looked up. "He's been miserable since he got here. He's just gotten good at hiding it. I'd say that he knew that nomad a lot more than he was letting on."

"Miserable? Why? He has a good place to live, plenty to eat, and I dare say I'm not that harsh a master, am I?"

"No. But the deserts breeds those who are more wild than most. You've collared a wild animal and he's still fighting those bonds."

Trowa blinked. Duo was the second person to compare the owning of a slave to owning a wild animal.

Before he could say anything more, Heero returned with the doctor in tow.

The doctor took one look at the still form on the bed and immediately shooed both Heero and Trowa out of the room. "Let me tend to my patient. This one can stay and help. As long as he stays out of the way."

Trowa started to protest, but Heero drew him from the room "There isn't anything we can do right now, expect be in the way. Let the man do his work."

Trowa let Heero guide him over to the sofa, where he sat down with a deep sigh. "I can't believe...."

Heero sat down next to him. He was equally stunned by what had happened. Duo, even at his worst, had never tried anything like this. "You can't always predict what some people will do."

"I'm not being too hard on him, am I? I'm not asking him to do more than he's capable of, right? What did I do wrong?"

Heero sighed. "It wasn't anything you did."

"Then why?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him when he wakes up."

"If he wakes up." Trowa shuddered. To loose such a golden ray of light would make the world that much duller and dimmer.

"The doctor is doing everything he can."

"It still might not be enough." Trowa came to his feet and began to pace across the floor, his limp growing worse with each step. "It would be my fault."

"No, it wouldn't."

"If I hadn't bought him...."  
  


"He would have been in a much worse situation right now and you know it. Someone was going to buy him. There is nothing you or anyone could do to change that. At least here he has a chance at a half decent life."

"But what kind of a life is this? Being the property of someone else. Having to do what you're told, when you are told."

"It's the only one for him. You know that as well as I do."

Trowa shook his head as he continued to pace. It had seemed so simple, before. He'd wanted someone to perform certain tasks specifically for him. A personal manservant, in a capacity similar to the one Duo performed for Heero. Thought not entirely the same. There were certain aspects of that relationship he didn't want. Since the slave force in the city did all the menial jobs, the easiest thing to do would be to go out and buy one himself. 

Now things were far from simple.

*****

It was nearly an hour before the doctor finally came out of the bedroom to confront the two waiting men.

"Well?" Heero demanded. Trowa only looked up from where he'd finally settled when his leg had nearly given out on him.

"We'll have to wait and see. The next twenty-four hours will be the most critical. I've done everything I can, but he lost a lot of blood. Fortunately the knife glanced off one of his ribs and didn't go as deep as it could have. He would have done a better job if he'd simply slit his throat."

Trowa blinked at the doctor's clinical comment. "What should we do with him?"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather leave him where he is for now. You can move him tomorrow after I'm sure he's stable."

"Is there anything we need to be watching for?" Heero asked.

"I explained everything to the young man I left with him. He's perfectly capable of keeping an eye on him for the night."

Heero looked calmly at the doctor. "I don't think even Duo could stay awake all night. What should we be watching for?"

The doctor sighed. "Fever, erratic breathing, bleeding and too much movement that could tear out the stitches."

Heero nodded slightly. "If there is any problem, we'll send for you immediately."

The doctor smiled. He knew Heero very well. "I'm sure you will." He picked up his bag and started out.

"Doctor," Trowa said softly, staring at his hands.

"Yes, Lord Trowa?"

"Don't say anything about this to anyone."

"As you wish."

Trowa looked up, a far away sadness in his dark green eyes. "Thank you."

With a slight nod the doctor turned and left the room

Heero looked at Trowa. "You know you could have...."

Trowa lifted a hand into the air, halting what he knew Heero was about to say. "That is not even a consideration. I don't want you to even mention it."

"It is an option."

"No, it's not." Trowa looked at him. "I will figure out what to do when the time comes. Right now, what is important is to see that Quatre heals."

Heero sighed. "He's your slave."

"Precisely." 

*****

Pain. It was the first thing to register to Quatre. A deep, burning pain in his chest that grew worse with every breath he drew. 

_Why does it hurt so much? Is dying so very painful?_

"Quatre," a voice whispered at the edge of his consciousness

"Father," he said in a choked voice. Even that made him hurt.

"Wake up Quatre."

Slowly Quatre opened his eyes, hoping to see his father and the others hovering around him._ Please let me be with them. Or let it all have been some horrible nightmare._

But the person he found himself staring at wasn't his father. A pair of familiar violet eyes looked worriedly back at him.

"No," he moaned, rolling away from the view and gasping at the pain it caused. Tears began to trickle down his face. "Why?" he choked out. "Why couldn't you have just let me die? I want to be with my father."

Duo reached out to touch the sobbing boy's shoulder. "Quatre..."

Quatre jerked away. "Don't touch me. Go away and leave me alone. I just want out of this horrible nightmare. I want to go with my father."

"Trowa....."

Quatre rolled over and sat up, slideing back against the wall. "Don't say his name. I hate him. I hate all of you! Go away and leave me alone!" Quatre wrapped his arms and began crying in earnest, trying to ignore how much it made his chest hurt. "I just wanted to be with my father again. After you hateful people murdered him." Quatre glared up at Duo. "You murdered him and then laughed about it. He, everyone I ever knew, was just a big joke to you. You call us uncivilized and then go and hunt down innocent people for no reason." Quatre began gasping as his tears came faster. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

Duo gathered the now unresisting boy into his arms. "The nomad, Kadir. He was your father, wasn't he?"

"He.....he just wanted to.......to  live as our ancestors have always done. He...he never bothered anyone."

Neither Quatre nor Duo noticed Trowa standing in the doorway, listening to the heartbroken cries of the blonde. Slowly he turned and walked back down the hall.

Heero looked up as Trowa walked into the room, moving as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "Trowa?"

Trowa looked at him. "I've come to a decision."

"About?"

"Quatre."


	8. Chapter Eight

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Eight

By SilverLady

Quatre awoke to a very strange sight. Duo was practically standing on his head in the chest at the end of his bed, muttering something under his breath.

They had moved Quatre back to his own room the day before. In some ways he was glad, it meant he didn't have to see the things that were no longer his to enjoy. Plus, he knew Trowa never came in here and he wouldn't have to see the person that was the cause of all of his problems. A small part of him knew that wasn't a fair thought, but it was how he felt. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice thick with pain and unshed tears. He seemed to cry a lot these days.

Duo glanced up. "Looking for something."

"I kind of figured that."

Duo smiled as he rose to his feet and walked over to the bed. Laying his hand on Quatre's forehead, he looked the other boy over. "How are you feeling?"

"Hurts."

Duo nodded. "That's not surprising. You're very lucky."

Quatre looked at him for a moment. "Am I?"

"Whether you know it or not, you are."

"How can you stand living this way?"

"It's the only life I know."

Just then the bell above Duo's bed rang, once but firmly.  Duo sighed. "I'd best go tell him I can't find it. I really don't know what I did with it."

Quatre blinked. "Won't he be mad?"

"Probably."

"And that doesn't worry you?"

Duo smiled. "Don't worry. I know how to handle my Heero." He turned and headed out the door. Before leaving he paused and looked back. "Rest. You need to get your strength back. And know this, everything happens for a reason. You just haven't learned what that reason is yet." With a flip of his long braid, he was gone.

Quatre closed his eyes. _He's wrong. There is no reason for this._

*****

The next time Quatre opened his eyes he was even more surprised than before. Sitting quietly on the other bed was Trowa.

"Duo said you'd been sleeping for a while." Trowa commented, deliberately keeping his voice pitched low.

Quatre turned his head away. "Is there something you need, Master?"

Trowa winced at the dull, flat tone in which the words were delivered. "I wanted to see how you are doing. And to talk."

"I don't believe we have anything to say."

Trowa watched him for a minute. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had already come to like and admire the young blonde. He would do what was necessary to try and make the boy as happy as possible. "If you want, I can sell you to a friend of mine. He's a good man and a good master. He doesn't make to many demands or expect much from those who serve him. In fact, you'd probably be left to yourself most of the time."

Quatre turned back over to look at Trowa with hurt blue eyes. "Why can't you just let me go?" he choked out. 

Slowly Trowa shook his head. "I can't do that."

"Why not? I just want to go home."

"To what? There is nothing there anymore."

"It's my home."

Trowa sighed. As much as he would like to do what the blonde asked, he couldn't. "I can't release you. It's the law. If I decided I don't want you I have to sell you to someone else."

"The law?"

Trowa nodded. "You are considered a prisoner of war. As such you cannot be released until after a duration of no less that five years. After that, it's up to the discretion of the owner."

Quatre could only stare at Trowa in disbelief. "Five years?" he finally whispered.

Trowa nodded again. 

Quatre turned his head back to the wall. "What about slaves like Duo?"

"Since he was born a slave he can be released when he turns twenty one, if his owner decides to do so." Trowa knew that was the only reason why Duo was still considered Heero's slave. Heero had already promised to release Duo from his slavery the day after his twenty first birthday, which was in a little less that two years.

Trowa closed his eyes. "If I could release you, I would. I didn't think this would make you so unhappy. Do you want to be sent to my friend? The decision is yours."

Quatre struggled to hold back the tears that once again threatened. "It would be no different than it is now. I don't care what you do." Pain lanced through his chest as he drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "If I may, I would like to sleep now. My chest hurts."

Trowa rose to his feet. He was no stranger to pain. "Do so. It will help you feel better." He stood watching as Quatre slipped into a quiet sleep. Moving across the room, he reached down to brush a stray lock of hair from Quatre's eyes. "Sleep, little one. I will try and make things as easy as possible for you. And I swear, the day you can be freed you will be."

With a soft sigh, Trowa turned and left the room.

*****

Duo didn't even look up when the door behind him opened. He kept his attention on the task before him, which was using a cool damp cloth to sponge down Quatre's fever racked body.

The fever had come up suddenly two days before and it took all of Duo's patience and skill to keep it from getting even worse then it was.

Quatre moaned and tossed, yet did not awaken. He had not regained consciousness since slipping into the fever-induced sleep.

"How is he?" Heero asked as he sat down on Duo's bed.

"No better, no worse."

"Has the doctor been by?"

"Yeah, earlier. He left some medicine that he hopes will help."

"Has he found the reason for the fever?"

"The wound was infected. Probably got something in it from the knife he used. He took out some of the stitches to let the area drain."

Heero watched the restlessly tossing boy. "Is that the only reason?"

Duo glanced back at Heero. "You know something I don't?"

"Trowa talked to him right before the fever came up. He told him the situation."

Duo nodded. "About not being able to release him?"

"Yes. Apparently, he also offered to sell him to Lenir."

"He's a good man. He would take good care of Quatre. But why?"

"I guess he thinks it's him that is making Quatre miserable."

Duo shook his head. "It's the situation, not Trowa."

"I know that and you know that and I think, deep in his heart, even Quatre knows that. But Trowa has gotten it into his head that this suicide attempt was all his fault."

Duo snorted. "If you want to blame anyone for it blame Gendar. That loud mouth fool is what set him off."

Heero nodded. He had suspected as much. 

"So now what happens?"

"We wait and hope he gets better. I gather that Trowa has decided against selling Quatre. As to what else he plans, I don't know."

Duo turned his attention back to Quatre. "Maybe he's right after all," he murmured.

"About?"

"Maybe we've been calling the wrong people barbarians."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

*****

Trowa was staring out into the garden when Heero walked in. "What's wrong?"

Trowa turned to look at him. "I was just talking to the doctor."

"What does he have to say?"

"That the infection that caused the fever is clearing up nicely."

"But the fever hasn't gone down."

"He thinks that the fever is more that just physically induced. He says Quatre isn't really trying to fight the fever off."

"A different form of suicide."

Trowa nodded. 

"What does he suggest be done?"

"There isn't much we can do but wait." Trowa turned back to stare sadly out across the garden. "I don't know what to do."

Heero was quiet for a moment. "Maybe a change of scenery would help."

Trowa frowned. "How?"

Heero shrugged. "I think he hates this city as much as anything else. Get away from it and the people that live here. Show him the way you normally live. Maybe he will be able to accept the situation if he realizes that what he's seen isn't the whole picture. Give him a chance to know you better."

"You told me to show him who was in charge. Wouldn't that be like giving in to him?"

Heero looked at him pointedly. "You like him, right?"

Trowa was quiet for a minute. "Yes," he finally answered. 

"Then you have to find the right balance. If you can find it, you will have someone who is totally loyal to you."

"What did you do with Duo?"

"Show him that I wouldn't put up with his shit. And then showed him that we could be a very good team if he'd let me in." Heero smiled slightly. "It was worth it."

"So, go beyond the normal master slave relation."

"He's a high strung, sensitive boy. I think he'll respond well. But don't go to far the other way, or he will think that all he has to do is turn on the tears and you'll give in. You don't want him to forget who is in charge."

Trowa sighed. "This is becoming a lot more difficult that I thought it would be."

"You didn't have to decide to have a personal slave. Things can get very complicated when things get as personal as they do in that situation."

"I know. I hope things work out, though. There is something about him that....."

Heero nodded. "You'll figure it out."

"I hope so."


	9. Chapter Nine

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Nine

By SilverLady

Trowa looked up as Quatre walked slowly into the room. It had been a week since the doctor had given the small blonde permission to start doing light work.

Trowa frowned. There was an air of depression around the boy that hadn't lifted, even after being allowed out of bed. He had tried to get the boy interested in something, but nothing seemed to work.

"You wanted to see me, Master?" Quatre's voice was flat and dull, as if it was an effort just to form the words.

Trowa had discussed Quatre's condition with the doctor and had been assured that it was nothing. That it would just take some time for him to recover from his injury and fever.

"I need you to go ask Heero to come here as soon as he has the chance."

"Yes, Master." Quatre turned and headed out of the room.

"Quatre."

"Yes, Master?"

"Is there something wrong?"

Quatre looked back at Trowa with a strange look in his eyes. "No, Master. Why would there be anything wrong, Master?"

Trowa winced at the words. Quatre had started ending every sentence he said to Trowa with the word Master. "You seem tired today."

"It's nothing, Master."

Trowa sighed. He knew he would get no more answer than that. "Very well. You may go."

"Yes, Master." Quatre opened the door and left the room.

Trowa sighed again. He needed to come up with something to make things better for Quatre. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt this way, but he did.

*****

Quatre walked slowly down the hall. Though his chest still hurt and sometimes he felt short of breath, neither was the reason for his slow pace. He felt as if some great weight was pressing down on him and it was an effort just to move. He often thought about curling up in a corner somewhere and letting the world pass him by, but that option didn't seem to be working. He had even been denied the release of death. 

When he reached the door that led into Heero's quarters, he paused for a moment. He could have sworn he had heard a low moan coming from inside the room.

He frowned. What could Heero be doing that would make him moan?

Reaching out he knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." Heero's voice was rough and hoarse, as if he'd been breathing heavily. Quatre heard Duo giggle slightly.

Quatre opened the door and walked in on a sight that stunned him. Heero and Duo were sprawled on the floor, completely naked. That in itself was a shock to the small blonde, but what they were obviously doing was even more shocking.

Duo was lying on his back under Heero, his legs wrapped tightly around Heero's waist. He had his head thrown back and his hair was loose and flowing around him. There was a sheen of sweat that covered his body and made him seem to glow softly. 

Heero was equally as sweaty as he arched over the long-haired boy beneath him. His hair was more mussed that usual as it hung down into eyes, half lidded with emotion. There were long red marks down his back where Duo's nails had scratched him.  Quatre couldn't tell for certain, but it seemed that he had his cock buried to the hilt inside Duo's body.

Duo moaned slightly and rubbed his very obvious erection against Heero's belly, trying to get him moving again.

Heero shifted slightly, causing Duo to arch up and moan again. "Did you want something?"

Quatre could only stare in surprise. _I didn't know Duo's hair was so long, was the only thought that ran through his mind. _

"Quatre?"

He blinked. "Yes, sire. Master Trowa wants you to come to his room as soon as you're available." Some how he managed to get the whole sentence out in a normal tone of voice. He was trying desperately to sound as if he saw this kind of thing all the time.

"Not come **in his room," Duo muttered under his breath, moving his hips to try and get some friction. He'd been so damned close before they'd been interrupted.**

Heero thrust more deeply into Duo. "Hush," he admonished. He looked back at the stunned blonde. "Tell Trowa I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, sire." Turning Quatre practically bolted from the room

Duo laughed brightly, a laugh that turned into a moan as Heero began to move again. "Sure surprised him," he gasped. "Oh, yes, Heero. A little harder." 

Heero smiled slightly, but obeyed his partner's wishes. "A bit innocent, isn't he?"

"Oh, yeah." Duo gasped, arching his back. 

Heero smirked slightly, enjoying how responsive Duo was. Closing his eyes, he let feelings he rarely let free wash over him. 

Duo wrapped himself tighter around Heero as he felt him begin to move harder and faster inside him. An act that had once been pure torture for him was now something he enjoyed doing, but only with the silent boy above him. He'd never though he could feel this way about anyone. 

"Oh, Heero," he moaned as the pressure built inside him. Tossing his head restlessly from side to side, he urged Heero on, his incoherent moans filling the room. 

Heero nuzzled his face into Duo's neck, loving the sounds of passion he was making. Duo's response to him never failed to amaze him. It was so wild and free, like the boy himself. 

Duo let out a long moan that turned into a scream as a wave of pure pleasure poured through him. Arching his back one last time, he screamed again as his body exploded. 

Heero gasped and threw back his head as he felt Duo's climax. The grip of Duo's body on him grew tighter as wave after wave rocked the boy. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, Heero allowed his own climax to take him.

Hard tremors continued to shake Duo's body as he felt Heero surge into him one last time. He moaned weakly as he felt Heero fill his body with his essence. 

With a soft gasp, Heero collapsed on top of him. It was a weight he bore gladly. Heero's body was trembling with the force of his release as he buried his face in Duo's neck. Duo wrapped himself even more tightly around the body weighing down on him, relishing the feel of Heero around him and inside him. 

For several minutes they simply lay there, enjoying the feeling of closeness. Finally Heero began to stir, withdrawing carefully from Duo's body.

Duo moaned in disappointment as he felt Heero leave him. "Don't go," he whispered.

Heero placed a gentle kiss on Duo's forehead. It was a common plea for the long-haired boy to utter and Heero understood the full meaning behind those two softly whispered words. He felt the same way.

"Trowa wants to talk to me."

Duo frowned as he looked up at Heero. "He can wait."

Heero laughed softly, a sound that filled Duo with wonder every time he heard it. He still couldn't believe that two people with such scarred souls could find contentment and pleasure in each other. "I won't be long."

Duo rubbed himself against Heero's groin, enjoying the feeling of Heero's body stirring back to life. "Just long enough."

Heero smirked as he rose gracefully to his feet. Looking down at the fey beauty, he shook his head. "You are a little minx," he commented, extending his hand to help Duo to his feet.

Duo rose reluctantly. Wrapping his arms around Heero's waist he smiled up and him. "But I'm you're little minx."

Heero placed a kiss on the tip of Duo's nose. "Forever," he whispered.

Duo sighed and rested his head against Heero's chest. There was no doubt in his mind that he would remain with Heero until death parted them. And even that wouldn't keep them separated for long. 

Heero pulled slowly away. Turning he walked over to the sofa where he had discarded his clothes earlier. "I wonder what Trowa could want."

Duo admired the view for a minute. "Who knows what's going on inside that boy's mind."

Heero sighed as he pulled on his pants. "I think this problem with Quatre is weighting heavily on him."

Duo pouted in disappointment as the view he'd been enjoying was hidden once more. "I think the boy just needs to get a clue. It's not such a bad life."

Heero turned and walked back over to Duo. "With the right person."

Duo looked up at Heero and smiled. "Of course."

Heero brushed his hand through Duo's hair. "You'd best braid your hair. Then join me in Trowa's room."

Duo bowed slightly. "Yes, master," he answered, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"And don't you forget it." Heero pulled Duo fiercely to him, pressing his lips firmly against the other boy's mouth.

Duo groaned and pressed himself against Heero. He could feel the blood surging hotly through him again.

Heero pulled away and headed for the door. "Don't be long," he threw back over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Duo stood still, a stunned look on his face. "Bastard," he finally whispered, moving to get his own clothes. He frowned. First he'd need to clean up though. 

*****

Trowa walked slowly down the hall. The doctor had finally decided that something more serious was need to help Quatre and had made a suggestion that he felt might do the boy some good. Trowa was seriously considering it, but he needed to talk to Felix before he could make a final decision.

"I told you not to put those plants there. They are supposed to be in the other dining room. If you can't pay attention to your work, I'll replace you with someone who will. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to work in the main house."

Trowa walked around the corner to find a rather small man glaring angrily at another man, one with a rather large plant in his arms. 

"Felix?"

The small man turned around. He was about fifty years old, with dark brown hair streaked liberally with gray. There were fine wrinkles around his eyes where he squinted when he was angry. He ruled the house with an iron fist, and was often angry at someone.

"Yes, Lord Trowa?"

"If you have the time I need to talk to you for a few minutes."

Felix nodded. "Of course, Lord." He turned to the other man. "Take that plant and all the others and put them where they belong. Immediately."

"Yessss, sir." The man cowered under the steely glare.

Trowa smiled. Felix was one of the few people that could actually glare down Heero.

Felix watched the slave leave. "Why don't you come back to my office? It will be more private."

Trowa nodded. "Sounds fine. This shouldn't take long."

Felix smiled at Trowa. "I keep telling you, take all the time you want. My job is to serve you."

"I know. But I've known you for what seems like forever. It doesn't feel right to be ordering you around."

Felix shook his head as he walked down the hall. "It has been forever, for you. I remember the look on your father's face when you were born. He was very proud of you."

"Of course. He had his son and heir."

Felix looked back at Trowa. "Believe it or not, he was proud of you. He was always bragging about you to his compatriots. He just had a hard time telling you that."

Trowa looked down for a moment. "I wish he had said it to me, just once. I never felt as if I lived up to his expectations."

Felix opened the door to his office and indicated that Trowa should enter first. "He would have been heartbroken to see what that accident did to you. And I don't mean physically, either."

Trowa blinked in surprise as he entered the room and sat down in one of the few uncluttered chairs. "I don't know what you mean."

"Think about it. I'm sure you will figure it out." Felix walked around the desk and sat down in his chair. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"The doctor suggested I take a trip and get away from the city for awhile. I was wondering if you would be able to handle things in my absence or would it cause too much trouble."

Felix looked at Trowa for a minute. "How soon can you be packed?" 

Trowa blinked at him in surprise. He'd expected a lecture on responsibility. 

Felix leaned back in his chair. "I am here so that you can do just that. Take as long as you want and enjoy yourself." He looked Trowa over carefully. "It's not you that the doctor thinks should get away from the city. It's that pretty little slave of yours."

Trowa sighed. "I never could get anything past you. Yes, it's Quatre. The doctor thinks the environment is hurting his health." _And hopefully the change of scenery will help his mental state as well._

"Being stabbed doesn't help."

Trowa wasn't surprised that Felix had heard. The story that had gotten around was that Quatre had been hurt protecting Trowa from an attacker. Trowa hadn't disputed the story. "True."

Felix nodded. "How long were you planning on being gone?"

"I really hadn't decided. I was figuring on just leaving that open."

"Very well. I can keep things going around here just fine."

Trowa nodded. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. It's my job."

"I still thank you. For everything. I haven't told you often enough how much I appreciate your support and help. I don't think I would have made it though my father's death without you."

"You are a lot stronger than you think. I'm just glad we didn't lose you both." There was a slight sheen in the older man's eyes that Trowa chose to ignore.

Trowa rose to his feet. "Could you start making arrangements for the things we'll need?"

Felix nodded. "Of course. How soon do you want to leave?"

An image of the listless blonde rose in Trowa's mind. "As soon as possible."  
  


"I can have everything ready in four days."

"That would be fine." He smiled slightly. "It will give Duo enough time to get a decent wardrobe together." He was always amazed at how..... particular Duo was about his clothes. He was worse about his hair, though.

"Is Heero going to accompany you?"

"Yes."

Felix nodded, not at all surprised. The two did a great many things together; two wounded souls helping each other make it through. He was glad that Heero had found a soul mate in Duo and hoped that Trowa would one day find the same thing. The way he was acting about this little blonde slave of his made Felix hope that maybe he already had.

"Any one else?"

Trowa shrugged. "Not that I know of, but I'll let you know. I don't want to drag a whole lot of people along. I want to leave all of that here."

Felix nodded. "Might I suggest that young man, Wufei. He would be an excellent traveling companion. In my opinion, only."

"I value that opinion. I'll ask him if he's interested and let you know."

Felix bowed his head slightly. "Of course. 

Trowa looked at the older man for a moment. "Thank you," he said again.

"My pleasure."

A ghost of a smile crossed Trowa's face before he turned to leave.

Felix watched the boy go. "I hope you find what you are looking for. I think the road ahead will be full of twists and someone to be with you will make it smoother."


	10. Chapter Ten

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Ten

By SilverLady

The sight that met Quatre's eyes when he walked into the small bedroom was one that was becoming very familiar. Duo had his head stuck down in the chest at the end of his bed, his butt stuck up in the air.

Normally, this would no longer give Quatre pause, but this time there was something different about Duo's pose. This time he was bare butt naked. 

Quatre blinked. He blinked again. He'd been trying really hard to forget the scene he'd walked in on two days before. It was hard for him to understand why Duo would willingly (and it had been pretty obvious he'd been very willing) submit himself to such an awful act. It went against everything he'd been taught.

_But you have to admit, it did look rather like they were enjoying themselves, a tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind. __Wouldn't you like to find out what all the fuss is about?_

Quatre shook his head, firmly silencing the voice. He was **not that kind of a person.**

Suddenly Duo looked up. "About time you got back. If you don't move it, you're going to be late."

Quatre was puzzled. "For what?"

"Ah ha! I knew you were hiding down there somewhere." Duo pulled out a rather ornate looking chain and rose to his feet. Tossing the chain on the bed with the clothing that was spread across it, he looked at Quatre. "In the bottom of your chest you should find a box. You need to put on the clothes that are in it." Duo glanced at the clothing on his bed and made a face. "I hate formals."

Quatre walked over to his chest and opened it. He easily found the box Duo had mentioned and pulled it out. Inside was the nicest set of clothes he'd seen since arriving here. Carefully he pulled them out. "Formals?"

"You didn't hear?"

"About what?"

"We're to attend Heero and Trowa at a party tonight. Crown Prince Michal is throwing it and that means formals."

Quatre frowned as he studied the clothes he would have to wear. Why did these people insist on wearing such tight things with so much junk on them.? If this was what the slaves would be wearing, what in the world did the nobles wear?

"You'd best get moving. Trowa will want you to help him with his clothes."

Quatre nodded and began dressing. "Why are they going to this party?" He'd not known either one to attend any party.

Duo huffed as he finished getting his shirt on. "You really are out of the loop, aren't you? Michal heard that Trowa was going away for awhile and decided it was a good excuse to throw a party."

"Going away?"

Duo paused and stared at Quatre. "Have you paid any attention to what Trowa's told you?"

Quatre ducked his head. "Not really." Everyone seemed to be talking down a long tunnel to him, any more. Especially Trowa.

"Trowa decided he wanted to get away from the city and take a vacation. From what I know it's the first time he's done so in years. Him and his father used to go away a couple of months every year." Duo picked up the chain and wrapped it around his waist. "I have a feeling his father was trying to get away from the memories of Trowa's mother. She got sick a few months after he was born and died right after his first birthday."

Quatre frowned, but didn't look at Duo. He didn't want to hear about Trowa's family. It made him more human and Quatre didn't want to start liking the man.

Duo continued talking, not noticing Quatre's lack of response. "The last time the went on a trip was literally the last time. There was an accident and Trowa's father was killed. It was in that accident that Trowa was so badly hurt. He's never gone again."

"But why would the Crown Prince want to throw him a party?"

Duo laughed. "You didn't know? They're first cousins. Trowa's father and Michal's father are siblings. Trowa's second in line to the throne."

Quatre was stunned. He'd never realized just how important a person Trowa was. _Then why can't he circumvent the law and let me go._

Duo turned around and surveyed Quatre critically. "The chain goes around your waist and that one goes around your neck. They mean you are a slave."

Quatre picked up the two chains. After staring at them for a minute, he slowly put them on. 

Duo rummaged around inside another box and pulled out two ornately carved bracelets. They were wide and made of silver, with several odd patterns carved on their surface. Attached to each one was a small half ring, also apparently made of silver. "Put out your hands and I'll put these on."

Quatre put his hands out in front of him, watching silently as Duo snapped the bracelets around his wrists. 

"They indicate who owns you." Duo pulled out a second set. Though similar to Quatre's, the symbols carved into them were different. "Please put these on me."'

As Quatre put them on Duo, he realized that the rings in the bracelets were so that chains could be attached. 

Duo nodded as he took a step back. "Good. You'd best go help Trowa now. There is such a thing as being fashionably late and then there's just plain late. We don't want to be the second, especially since Trowa's going to be the guest of honor."

"Are you going on this trip?" No matter what Duo did when he was with Heero, Quatre had to admit to himself that he liked the boisterous young man.

Duo smiled. "Sure am. Trowa don't go too many places without Heero."

Quatre couldn't stop himself from arching an eyebrow at that comment.

Duo laughed. "Not for that. Trowa and Heero have been best friends a long time. They help each other through the bad times. I'd say they are brothers in everything but blood." Duo sighed. "And there have been a lot of bad times. At times I would say that Heero had a worse childhood than I did." A sad look crossed his face, then was gone, replaced by his usual expression. "I'll see you later." Turning, he practically dashed out the door leading to Heero's quarters.  

Slowly, Quatre headed towards Trowa's rooms. He had a feeling this was not going to be a pleasant night. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Eleven

By SilverLady

Three hours later Quatre found himself standing near the front door of the house. He still couldn't understand why in world these people insisted on wearing so many clothes. His fingers still hurt from doing up all the buttons, hooks and ties on Trowa's clothing. He didn't even want to think about what it would take to get him back out of the costume when they got home.

He felt his cheeks suddenly heat up at that thought. He couldn't understand why the thought of taking Trowa's clothes off of him made him feel funny.

Duo was standing near him. Although his feet never moved from their place, the rest of him wasn't still. Something on Duo was constantly in motion. Quatre had learned that even asleep Duo wasn't still. Right now he was playing with the end of his braid, tangling it in his fingers and then smoothing it back out again.

Heero and Trowa were sitting on a couch a few feet away. When they had come into the room Trowa had told him to stand where he was and wait quietly. Quatre wondered just exactly what they were waiting for.

At that moment a richly dressed man walked into the room. Quatre had not seen anyone dressed in this uniform before and he wondered what he did.

"Your Lorships," the man said quietly. "The carriage is ready."

Trowa nodded slightly and rose to his feet. "Thank you." He glanced over at Quatre and inclined his head slightly, indicating that he wanted him to follow.

Quatre obediently fell into step three paces behind Trowa, making note that Duo did the same to Heero. It was the way he'd been shown to follow Trowa. Close enough to hear Trowa if he wanted anything, without Trowa needing to shout, and yet far enough back to not be in the way.

They walked outside to find, what was to Quatre, a rather strange looking carriage. For, attached to the back and facing backwards, was what looked like an extra seat.

Quatre paused, not certain what was expect of him. He noticed that Duo had stopped as well.

Immediately another uniformed man stepped forward and opened the door to the carriage. With a slight nod of his head, Trowa stepped up into the carriage. Heero followed him in. The man shut the door and stepped away from the carriage.

Duo suddenly darted forward and scrambled up into the extra seat, indicating that Quatre should follow him.

Fortunately Quatre moved fast enough, for he had barely gotten himself settled when the carriage lurched forward and they were off.

"You got to move fast," Duo whispered. "They won't wait for you. And actually we're lucky. Some people make their slaves follow along behind, like dogs or something."

Quatre blinked in surprise. He couldn't imagine anyone being able to keep up with a moving carriage. "And what happens if they don't?" Quatre whispered back. He had a feeling that they weren't to talk to loudly and distract the occupants of the carriage.

Duo simply looked at him, the expression on his face the only answer Quatre needed.

"I figured I should explain a few things on the way, especially since this is your first time. A lot of the rules that apply at home apply here. No talking to anyone unless given permission. Trowa's orders supersede everyone else's, etcetera. You have a job to do and that's why you come along. Believe me, they don't bring us so that we can enjoy ourselves."

"What kind of job?"

"You are Trowa's personal server. Even though there are other slaves that bring the food to the tables, it's your job to actually serve Trowa. You also see that his wine glass, or what ever beverage he chooses to drink, is kept full and that there is nothing he needs. You pull out his chair so that he may sit down and also when he goes to get up. You stick with him, in case he wants anything unless he tells you to wait in a specific place for him. Then you are to stay there and not move. No matter what anyone else tells you. 

"You won't be asked to disrobe, since there will be ladies present and if you are don't. The only time you are to obey that command is when Trowa issues it and there are no women around." Duo gave a slight smile. "Guess they don't want to know what they're missing."

"What if somebody tries to do something you don't want them too?" Quatre had, on several occasions, been pinched, usually on the butt, by one of Trowa's guests.

"If it hasn't been cleared with Trowa you can refuse. But if Trowa gives his permission, there isn't anything you can do or say. But I don't think you have to worry about that. I doubt if Trowa will let anyone do anything."

"I won't get in trouble for refusing."

"Only for refusing Trowa."

Quatre nodded. It seemed rather simple. Just follow Trowa's orders, whatever they may be.

Duo smiled slightly. He didn't think anything would happen, since Quatre was Trowa's slave. That carried a lot of weight in the circle of people they would be with tonight.

*****

The ride to the party seemed to take a very long time to Quatre and he was more than a little sore when they did finally arrive. The seat he'd ridden in had obviously not been designed for comfort.

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to open the carriage door, but before he could move a fancily dressed man stepped forward and did so.

Duo slide up beside Quatre. "See the symbol on his shoulder?" he whispered.

Quatre nodded, making note of the patch sewn to the shoulder of the man's shirt. It looked like a stylized horse head.

"That means he a livery slave. Basically he works in the stables, tending the horses and carriages."

"Oh."

"It's his job to open the door to the carriage and to see to the safe....extraction of the people inside."

Quatre barely kept from laughing at Duo's choice of words. Some of the people he could see walking up the stairs looked as if extraction was the only way to describe how they could have gotten out of their carriages.

"Of course, he don't care how the slaves get off. That's up to them."

Trowa glanced back at them for a moment, and then started up the stairs.

"It's show time," Duo whispered, before falling into step behind Heero, who was walking up the stairs as if on a mission.

Quatre frowned as he followed Trowa. _What did Duo mean by that? _

*****

An hour later, Quatre understood the comment completely. How could a group of people talk to each other and not really say anything at all? There was such a complicated dance of beating around the bush going on, Quatre was amazed anyone could even remember what started a conversation.

He did notice that not a lot of people seemed to want to engage Heero for very long in any sort of small talk. After standing near him for a few minutes, he understood why. Heero didn't beat around the bush. He was blunt, almost to the point of rudeness at times. 

At the moment he was glaring at some air-headed blonde that had tried to convince him to dance with her. She didn't seem to be getting the hint that Heero wasn't interested.

Just as Heero opened his mouth to say something, Trowa stepped forward. "Heero, I've been looking for you. I need you assistance in explaining several matters to Lord Andar."

Fortunately, Heero got the hint and with a slight nod at the blonde girl, turned and followed Trowa. "Why didn't you just let me tell her off?"

"Because then you would have actually spoken to her, instead of just glaring and shaking you head. You would have never gotten rid of her then."

"I would have told her exactly what I think of her."

"And she would have figured you were just playing hard to get. She is one person you don't want to give any encouragement to."

"Well, well, well. If isn't Cousin Trowa and his tag along buddy Heero Yuy. I hadn't heard you'd actually arrived or I would have greeted you sooner."

Quatre blinked in surprise at the man walking towards them. In a room full of gaudy people, he was the gaudiest. Quatre wasn't sure exactly how the man managed to walk, with all the gems and such that he was wearing.

The thing of it was, he might actually be a rather nice looking man if he hadn't been so horrible dressed. His light brown hair feathered around a face that could be called handsome, if not for the plotting look in his dark brown eyes.

It was obvious to Quatre that there was no love loss between the two cousins.

Trowa inclined his head slightly. "I knew you would get to us eventually. You do have a great many duties as host."

"Nice one," Duo mouthed behind Heero's back. Quatre smiled slightly. There was something about this man that gave him the creeps.

"Ever the diplomat, right Cousin." He glanced passed Heero at Duo. "Brought your trained killer with you, I see."

"Never leave home without him," Heero replied calmly.

"Is he really as good as they say?"

Heero gave him an odd smile. "Hope you never have to find out."

Michal laughed. There was something fake about it, as if it was too hearty for the man it was issuing from. "Touché, Heero. How about his other talents? I hear he's quite good in the bedroom as well. Jakar knew how to train them up right."

"I suppose."

"You're not going to say."

Heero shrugged. "One trained whore slave is pretty much like the next one."

Quatre blinked. He couldn't believe those words had come out of Heero's mouth. And what was even more surprising was that Duo didn't even react to them.

"Then why buy him?"  
  


"The challenge." 

Michal nodded. "I understand completely. You have managed to out live any of the others that have owned him."

"That's not true. His first owner had him for nearly nine years before he died."

Michal only looked at him for a moment. Then he turned his attention to Quatre.

Quatre could feel his skin crawl as the man looked him over. "And this is you newest toy, Cousin. I hear he's already quite loyal. I don't know too many slaves that would take a knife meant for their master."

Quatre barely managed to keep his face blank. What in the world did he mean by that?

"Yes," Trowa replied softly. "I was very fortunate."

Michal looked Quatre over again. "Very. I heard the bidding went quite high. Too bad I had other business that day. You might have had a more serious challenge for him. He is very nice."

Trowa shrugged. "That is the fates. It wasn't meant to be."

Michal laughed again "True. He looks like he's quite a ride. Is he?"

Trowa simply arched an eyebrow.

"Maybe you'll let me test him out some time. I might teach him a new trick or two."

"I don't know when I'll be getting back. It might be several months."

"Too bad. Maybe you can loan him to me for the night."

"I don't think so."

Michal shook his head. "Your loss. Might have made the ride that much more interesting."

"Quatre is fine just the way he is. I certainly don't need him learning any more tricks."

Just then a slave hurried up to them. "Your highness, Lord Nichols says that he must speak with you at once. It is on a most urgent matter."

"Things are always urgent with him." Michal looked at Trowa. "I'm sure we'll have a chance to talk again later."

"I'm sure."

Michal turned and followed the slave, grumbling under his breath about stupid old men and their problems.

Quatre couldn't contain the shudder that ran through him. He definitely did not like that man.

He glanced over at Duo, who looked at him and then at the retreating back of the Crown prince. To Quatre's surprise he made the weirdest face at the man before looking back at Quatre. He nodded slightly and frowned.

Quatre understood the silent message. Duo didn't like the man either.

Trowa sighed. "At least that is out of the way."

Heero nodded his agreement. "He's done his token duty and properly greeted his dear cousin. I doubt if you'll see him the rest of the night. Lord Nichols probably has some serving wench all tied up for him."

Trowa looked at Heero. "Tied up?"

"You don't think any of them would actually be still for him, do you?"

Trowa shook his head. "You'd best not let him hear you say that."

Heero shrugged. "I can't help it if he can't accept the truth. The only thing that gets him attention is the fact that these people want to kiss up to the Crown Prince."

Trowa simply shook his head again. He knew there was no need to encourage Heero.

*****

Quatre stood quietly in the deserted hall. Trowa had told him to wait here while he went into the bathroom. It seemed that slave were not to soil the room with their presence. 

"If it isn't Cousin Trowa's little slave boy. Where's the master, boy?"

Quatre continued to look straight ahead.

Suddenly Michal was standing in front of him. "Such a good little slave boy. I bet you do everything your dear master tells you too, don't you?" There was a slur to Michal's speech that indicated to Quatre that he'd been drinking heavily for the past few hours.

Quatre tried to keep the revulsion he felt for this man off his face. It wouldn't do to get him angry.

Michal reached out and snatched Quatre's arm. "Did you know that Trowa and I share everything?" There was an odd emphasis on the everything.

Quatre remained still, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

Michal smiled at the feel of the racing pulse beneath his fingers. "I knew you'd want this. You're a very smart boy. Play your cards right and please me and I'll see that you are mine."

Quatre hid the frown he felt. He wasn't sure what the man was talking about.

Suddenly, Michal jerked him into a darkened corner and pressed his lips to Quatre's.

Now, Quatre was scared. Trying to free his mouth enough to shout for help, he struggled in the man's arms.

Michal's grip tightened. "You are a very good kisser," he slurred when he finally pulled away.

Before Quatre could make any noise, Michal was dragging him out through an open door and into the garden beyond. As Quatre opened his mouth to shout, Michal clamped his hand across it. "Not one noise," he hissed in Quatre's ear, suddenly sounding very sober. "Or I will make you regret it. What I want, I get. And tonight, it's you. I can't wait to test out that hot little ass of yours. I bet you give my dear cousin quite a ride. Well, now I'm going to show you how a real expert rides."

After a moment, Quatre found himself in a remote part of the garden. Michal seemed pleased with the location as he nodded to himself.

With a dark laugh, Michal grabbed at Quatre's shirt, ripping it open even as he forced the blonde to his knees in front of him. This position brought Quatre at eye level with Michal's groin and his very obvious erection.

Suddenly, Quatre understood what Michal meant by ride. He struggled to stand, not wanting this to go any farther.

Michal only laughed and shoved him backwards. Caught off guard, Quatre fell on his back, finding himself staring up at the leering man. "Very nice," Michal growled. Reaching down, he ripped Quatre's pants off. "Very nice indeed."

Quatre went to cover himself, but Michal was faster. Grabbing Quatre's wrists in one hand, he forced the blonde's arms above his head. "No fair, hiding this fine piece of work," Michal chided, reaching down to take Quatre's penis in his hand. "Has my cousin let you use it on him, or does he prefer that sweet ass?"

Quatre didn't reply as he struggled to escape the man's grip. Suddenly pain flared through his wrists and groin as Michal tightened his grip.

This time Quatre did cry out, a high-pitched wail that split the darkness.

Michal laughed. "Scream all you want. The sounds of the party will cover any noise you make. In fact, I want to hear you scream as I take you." He released his grip on Quatre's penis and ran his hand down across Quatre's buttocks.

Quatre arched his back and screamed as a thick finger suddenly shoved its way passed the tight ring of muscle that guarded the entrance to his body. 

Michal leered down into his face. "Very tight. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were still a virgin." 

Quatre sobbed, trying to escape the invading finger. After barely a moment a second and then a third finger were roughly added. The pain that shot up his body from his abused opening had Quatre screaming continuously now. 

After a moment or two the fingers were removed, but before Quatre could even register that fact he felt a weight pressing down on him, forcing his legs to spread apart. He opened his eyes to find himself staring into Michal's glazed expression. "I like watching."

Quatre could feel something infinitely larger that the fingers that had so recently invaded his body pressing against him. There was also a great deal of moisture slideing down the crack in his butt.

"NO!" he shrieked, struggling to keep this new invader out.

Just as he felt himself begin to give way beneath the onslaught, the weight was abruptly gone. With a pained moan, Quatre curled up into a tiny ball.

He didn't see the thick, brown colored rope that was wrapped around Michal's throat. Michal clawed frantically at the rope, barely registering that this rope was really a thick braid of hair.

Duo tightened his grip. When Trowa had come back and reported that Quatre had wandered off, Duo'd had a bad feeling. Following his instincts he'd headed for the gardens, the most private place on the estate. As soon as he'd gotten away from the noise of the party he'd heard the anguished wail. Following the screams, he'd come across a scene that had infuriated him. 

At the sight of Michal trying to force his way into Quatre's body, while Quatre had struggled to keep him out Duo had just reacted. Using the first available weapon, his long braid of hair, he'd simply wrapped it around Michal's throat and pulled.

Duo barely registered the gasping breaths or the frantic fingers, as he pulled even tighter. He didn't even notice that Michal's eyes were practically bulging from their sockets as he struggled to draw a breath.

"Duo let him go." Heero's calm voice suddenly cut through the darkness.

"No," Duo replied. 

Heero moved forward to put his hand on Duo's shoulder. "Duo let him go. He's not worth it."

Duo looked up at Heero. "He was going to...."

Calm blue eyes looked back at him, full of understanding. "I know. Let him go."

Reluctantly, Duo released his grip on his braid. He continued to look at Heero, not paying any attention to Michal as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, coughing and choking as his lungs labored to draw in air.

"He'll pay for that," Michal gasped out after a moment.

Heero glared at the other man. "Just try it. I wonder what you're punishment will be, for attempting to rape another man's slave?"

Michal glared back. "He was asking for it."

"Doesn't matter. His master didn't give his permission. I'd say that they'll figure Duo had every right to stop you in the manner he saw fit." He smirked. "Just be glad he didn't break your stupid neck. Next time he just might."

An odd noise drew Heero's attention away from the prostrate prince. Duo was trying to comfort the nearly hysterical Quatre.

"It's all right, Quatre. He won't hurt you now. It's just me. It's Duo. I won't hurt you." Over and over Duo muttered gentle words, trying to calm the blonde down.

"NO!" Quatre cried over and over, curling up into a tighter ball and rocking back and forth. His heart-rending sobs tore through the night air.

Heero moved forward, pulling off his cloak to hand it to Duo. "Cover him up."

Duo took the offered cloak and tried to wrap it around Quatre. It took several tries, but finally he succeeded. 

Heero studied the scene for a moment before kneeling down beside the young boy. With a quick move, he suddenly pressed two fingers into the back of Quatre's neck.

Without a noise, Quatre abruptly sank into unconsciousness.

Duo glared at Heero. "That wasn't necessary."

"We need to get him home, now. It was the fastest way to go about it. You carry him. I'll get Trowa and the carriage."

"What about him?" Duo practically spat out the words.

"Don't worry about him. I'm sure he'll come up with something."

Duo started to say something, then fell silent. Gently, he picked up the still boy and headed for the front of the house. There was no way he was going to carry Quatre through that crowd of vultures. They'd enjoy the show too much.

Heero watched Duo leave. "I don't think I have to warn you what will happen if you try and make an issue out of this. Good night."

With one last disgusted glance at the prostrate man, Heero turned and headed for the house.

*****

Trowa didn't even jump when Heero suddenly materialized next to him. "Find him?"

"Yes. Duo's taking him out front. It's time to leave."

Trowa turned at the flat tone in Heero's voice. "What happened?"  
  


"Your dear cousin tried to rape him. If Duo had been a few seconds slower, he would have succeeded."

Trowa's eye glittered angrily. "Where?"  
  


"He's still getting his act together. Almost being choked to death is not a good thing. Duo lived up to his reputation tonight. I almost didn't persuade him to let him go. Not that I wouldn't mind killing the bastard myself, but as I told Duo, he isn't worth it."

"I'll..."

Heero grabbed Trowa's elbow and started to lead him from the room. "Now is not the time to deal with him. His day will come. Right now, you have a very upset young man who needs to be taken home."

Trowa started moving faster towards the door. "Is he all right, otherwise?"

"I saw some blood. I'd say Michal did something to him, I just don't know what. Why don't you let Doc check him out."

Trowa nodded as he stepped outside. This time his cousin had gone too far.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twelve

By SilverLady

As Trowa walked outside, he found Duo already there. The scene was so eerily familiar Trowa paused and blinked. Once again, Duo stood before him with a still Quatre in his arms. This time, though, there wasn't the blood there had been before. Quatre's clothing was ripped, however, and there were grass stains on the fabric.

"Is he?" Trowa asked, walking up to Duo. He didn't notice that Heero had slipped off to one side and was talking to one of the footmen standing nearby.

"He passed out." Duo's voice was flat and cold. 

"What happened?"

"I found that bastard of a cousin of your about to rape him."

Trowa blinked. He'd never heard such fury in Duo's voice. It certainly made him believe that Duo really had earned the nickname 'Shinigami' legitimately.

"I know that part. Why did he pass out?"

Duo glared at Trowa, the fury in his eyes causing Trowa to take a step backward. Before Duo could say anything, though, the sound of a carriage coming to halt at the bottom of the stairs halted him.

"Let go," Heero's voice cut through the air, drawing Duo's attention away from Trowa. 

Duo moved down the stairs like a stalking panther. Even his walk demonstrated the anger the braided boy was feeling. Trowa made a silent note to himself to talk to Heero later. There was more going on here than he knew.

Looking back at the large house, where the party continued unabated, Trowa sighed. _Somebody must really not be happy with him. This situation continues to get worse and worse. With another sigh, Trowa headed down the stairs._

When he had nearly reached the bottom he noticed that Duo was headed for the seat on the back of the carriage where the slaves normally rode. "No," he spoke up, waving at the footman that had run up to open the door to the carriage. "Inside. There's no need for the two of you to ride on the back. It will make the trip easier for him."

Duo blinked in surprise at the quietly spoken words. He had never even considered Trowa allowing them to actually ride **in the carriage. There were times when Trowa could be very insistent on doing what was proper. **

Heero smiled slightly at the surprise on Duo's face. Stepping up into the carriage, he looked down at him. "Hand him up."

Duo's arms tightened their hold on the small blonde for a moment as he looked up into Heero's face. Then, with a slight smile, he did as he was bid.

Quatre moaned slightly at the feeling of being transferred and tried to curl up into a protective ball, but Heero's strong grip wouldn't allow him to move. At that, he began to struggle more fiercely, the fear making itself known even in his semi-conscious state.  

Duo hopped up into the carriage and sat down beside Heero. With a speaking glance at Heero he took Quatre back into his arms, holding the struggling boy close to him, his hands already stroking Quatre's hair as he murmured soft words of assurance.

At Duo's touch and voice Quatre settle back down, snuggling closer into the safety of Duo's hold. _ On an instinctual level, Quatre trusted Duo to protect him and his body responded to that trust._

Trowa said nothing as he got into the carriage. He noticed that, as Duo curled protectively around the small boy he held, Heero did the same to him. Though Heero made no move to actually touch either boy, it was obvious that he was guarding them. There was a soft look in his eyes as he watched Duo as well. Any doubts or questions Trowa might have had about his best friend's relationship with his slave were settled in that moment. Trowa suddenly felt left out, alone and unwanted.

Closing his eyes to shut out the scene, he leaned his head against the back of the seat as he felt the carriage lurch forward. He had hoped this night would be a good experience for Quatre. Once again, he had failed the young boy and he had paid the price for Trowa's stupidity.

Trowa really didn't know what he could do now. Maybe he would simply turn the boy over to Heero. It was pretty obvious that Duo already cared a great deal for him. Maybe things would be better that way.

With a silent sigh, Trowa let himself fall asleep. 

*****

 "NO!" Quatre cried out, fighting the feeling of being pawed and manhandled. He could still feel those hands on his body, touching him in places that had never been touched in such a manner before. He could still feel the pain that radiated from the more abused portions of his anatomy. And most of all, he could feel the fear at what was happening to him.

"Shh." A soft voice whispered, slideing through his panic like a gentle breeze. "You're safe. He won't hurt you anymore."

Gentle fingers brushed across his forehead and Quatre jerked away from the touch. "Don't touch me," he whimpered, fear overwhelming him.

The fingers slide gently through his hair, moving slowly and softly. "It's just me, little one. Open your eyes. You're safe."

Slowly, reluctantly, Quatre opened his eyes. He relaxed slightly when he found Duo looking down at him, a small smile on his face. "Duo?" he whispered softly.

Duo's smile widened. "The one and only."

"He...." Tears filled Quatre's eyes and spilled over.

Duo immediately gathered him up into his arms. "It's all right. It's over. I won't let him hurt you. I swear it. I won't let you go through that."

Quatre sobbed in Duo's arms. He wasn't sure why he felt safe, but he did. He knew he could believe the softly whispered words.

Finally, the storm abated some and Quatre lay quietly in Duo's arms. "Why?" he whispered.

Duo sighed. He had a pretty good idea what had brought on tonight's incident. "With Michal it's not always easy to say. My guess is he saw something of Trowa's and wanted it for himself. He probably figured you were already spreading your legs for Trowa and figured he should get a piece of the action. He's always been that way."

"But why would he think....?"

"Because that's what a lot of personal slaves are bought for, one way or another."

Quatre began shaking his head in disbelief. What was these people's preoccupation with sex?

Duo gently took Quatre's chin in his hand and titled his face upward. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again. If Trowa hadn't bought you at that auction, you'd be serving in some whorehouse. There are plenty of people out there that will pay for some time with a young kid. And plenty of those who cater to them."

"No."

Duo nodded. "Do you know how old I was when I was introduced to oral sex?"

Quatre shook his head, part of him dreading the answer.

"Five."

Quatre gasped, shaking his head harder. He refused to believe such a thing could happen.

"Yes. I was just past my fifth birthday when a man put his cock in my mouth and made me suck him off. He was my first master." Duo's eyes grew dark. "I was six the first time I was raped."

"Raped?" Quatre's voice was barely above a whisper.

Duo frowned. "If I hadn't been a slave that's what they would have called it. One of my master's houseguests decided he wanted to get his rocks off, but didn't want to have to go find a convenient whore. Besides, I think he liked little boys and here was one handy. I couldn't move for three days after that, it hurt so badly. I just wanted to curl up and die. I prayed for it at night." Duo shrugged his shoulders "After a while I learned how to turn myself off so I wouldn't really feel what they were doing to me. And I learned to be very good at it, so they'd get off sooner and go away."

"But....I saw.....you and......"

Duo smiled. "I know what you saw. With Heero it isn't just sex though. For the first time in my life, all of me is involved in the act. I enjoy it. Heart, body and soul." An odd gleam filled Duo's eyes. "Especially body."

"I don't understand."

"Maybe some day you will. Heero doesn't force me to do anything I don't want to. I'm a part of what's happening, not just a convenient vessel. I've never had anyone truly care about what I want. He does. That makes it more than sex. That makes it love."

"You love him?"  
  


"With every fiber of my being." There was a fierceness in Duo's voice at his quietly spoken words. "For Heero I would do nearly anything."

"But..."

Duo looked at Quatre. "What?"

"Boys aren't supposed to......"

"Love other boys."

Quatre nodded.

"Why not?

"It's not right."

"By whose standards?"  
  
"The Great Book says....."  
  


Duo snorted. "A book written by a bunch of stick-up-their-ass men with a vendetta. They decided what was right and what was wrong. They say all these things, but they rarely listen to their own words. I think love is love, it doesn't care what the body looks like or what's between said body's legs. It cares about what's inside. The heart and the soul. And I can enjoy sex with Heero as much as with any girl. And I don't have to worry about children and what might happen to them."

"Have you?"

"Had sex with a female?"

"Yes."

Duo nodded. "One of my master's was big on breeding his slaves. He wanted to have plenty to work his fields and mines."

"You mean...?"

"That I might have a few kids out there somewhere. It's possible. I'll probably never know for certain though."

"How old would they be?"

Duo frowned for a minute. "Around six or seven, I guess."

"You were just a child yourself."

"Yeah. Breed 'em young and often. Hell, some of the girls they brought in were younger that I was. I know for a fact a couple of them were virgins."

"It's good to have a young mare mated with an experienced stallion," Quatre murmured, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Duo laughed. "Right."

"Of course, you usually do that with a young stallion as well."

Duo lowered his head, shaking it in disbelief. "Do you?"

Quatre nodded. "Yeah."

Duo glanced at the other boy, noticing that his eyelids were starting to slidee closed. "I think you'd best rest. You need it."

Quatre didn't argue as he curled up on his side. "Don't leave me."  
  


Duo pulled up the blankets and tucked the blonde in. "I'll keep you safe."

Quatre smiled slightly as he drifted off to sleep.

Duo looked down at the sleeping boy for a moment. "I hope things get better for you." With a sigh he turned and climbed into his own bed. He'd told Heero that he felt it would be a good idea if he stayed here for the night, to make sure everything was okay. Though he knew he would miss his lover fiercely, Heero had not argued. 

Duo frowned as he stared up at the ceiling. This was going to be a very long night.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirteen

By SilverLady

Trowa barely paid any attention to Felix as the older man rambled on about how the plans for Trowa's trip were going. He was mentally going over the options he had available to him in regards of what to do with Quatre.

Although Quatre seemed all right when with Duo, the boy immediately withdrew if anyone else came near him. Though the reaction wasn't so bad if it was Heero, he absolutely froze if anyone else was around. It was getting so bad that Trowa had stopped having Quatre serve dinner if it was more than just him, Heero and Wufei, who also didn't seem to threaten the boy.

Even Trowa himself seemed to cause the reaction to some degree.  Trowa was getting heartily tired of being addressed as Master in that flat, monotone voice. It was getting so Quatre could give Heero a run for his money in the dead voice department.

"Of course, it's taking longer than I originally anticipated. The large travel carriage had to be completely reupholstered.  Someone failed to take proper care of it and the fabric was full of dust and holes. And the cook insists he needs at least two more assistants......."

"Master?" The soft voice floated past Felix's droning tone. Trowa turned his attention outward once more and found himself looking at a pale Quatre. In his hands, Quatre held a tray with some covered dishes on it

Trowa blinked. "Yes?"

"I brought you some lunch, Master. It's past the noon hour, Master."

Trowa winced inwardly. "Thank you, Quatre." He glanced at the desk full of papers that needed to be looked over. Much of the papers were Felix's, brought to show Trowa exactly what was planned. 

Trowa glanced over at the older man, who had fallen silent when Quatre had entered the room. "Why don't you get some lunch yourself. I'm sure everything is in order and that you are working as quickly as possible."

Felix nodded and began to gather up his papers.

"Leave them. I want to look over them again, anyway."

"Of course." With a slight bow, Felix turned and left the room.

Trowa turned his attention back to Quatre, who had remained standing by the desk, the tray held in his hands. "Just put it down somewhere."

"Yes, Master." Quatre carefully set the tray down on a small clear spot on the desk. "Is there anything else, Master?"

Trowa frowned. "Have you eaten yet?" 

"Yes, Master."

"Do you read?"

"Yes, Master."

Trowa indicated the papers spread across his desk. "Could you please sort these out? I want to look at the plans for the trip, but they're mixed up in everything else on this monstrosity."

"Yes, Master." Quatre immediately began to pick up the papers, glancing at them and then sorting them into separate piles. _There seem to be a lot of lists for a simple trip. He made note of the trail marked out on the large map he had just picked up.  "Master?"_

Trowa glanced up from his lunch. "Yes?"

"Is this the route you plan on taking for this trip, Master?"

Trowa looked over at the map Quatre was holding. "Yes."

Quatre glanced at some of the other papers he had gathered up. "Are you going to be staying in inns at night, Master?"

"Not most of the time. The towns aren't that close together. I thought we'd probably have to camp out a lot of the time."

Quatre continued to read through the lists. He couldn't believe the incredible amount of people and things that were apparently going on this trip as well. _Why do they need six people to tend to the horses? And that is apparently their only job._

Trowa noticed that Quatre was frowning as he read the papers in his hand. "Is there something wrong?"

Quatre looked up and hastily set the papers down. "No, Master."

"If you think something is wrong, please tell me." It was the first time that Trowa had actually seen the boy interested in something. He'd grab any thread he could to try and help the boy out of the depression he'd sunken into.

"It just.... it seems like a lot of stuff for a trip, Master."

"Meaning?"

Quatre glanced back at the map again. "It just is an awful lot of people and things that aren't really needed. You can buy a lot of your supplies on the trail or gather them. And when you get up into this part of the route," He pointed at a section of the map. "the wagons are going to be totally useless. And you're going to have to keep a lot of mouths fed, mouths that aren't necessary. Most of these people only have one job to do. When they're not doing it, they'll just be standing around getting in the way."

Trowa watched the boy as he ran his finger down the list of people Felix was planning on sending with him. There was actually some emotion in the boy's voice and he noticed he hadn't called him Master once.  A sudden idea struck him. "Then why don't you plan this trip."

Quatre looked up in surprise. "Master?"

 "Your people travel a great deal, right."

"Yes, Master."

"So you can plan this trip. Start over from scratch. Plan it the way you think it should be done and then bring it to me. As long as it's workable, we'll go with it."

Quatre's fingers ran lightly across the map. "Everything, Master?"

"Everything."

A very faint smile crossed Quatre's face. "As you wish, Master." He paused for a moment. "May I have some paper and something to write with, Master?"

Trowa gestured with his hand. "Take what ever you need."

Quatre quickly gathered up the things he would need. "Who is going on this trip, Master?"

"You mean the main ones."

"Yes, Master."

"Me, you, Heero, Duo and Wufei."

"Wufei, Master?"

"You've met him. The one that offered to buy you the first time."

Quatre nodded, remembering the odd boy. "He is bringing no one, Master?"

"Not that I know of."

Quatre nodded again. "I'll bring you this as soon as possible, Master."

Trowa smiled as he watched him go. It was the most animated the boy had been in some time.

*****

 "You did what?" Heero looked at Trowa in disbelief.

"I asked Quatre to plan our trip. It is what his people do all the time. Travel. And he seemed to think we were taking a lot of wasteful things."  
  


"And you agreed to follow his plan."

"If it's a workable plan, yes."

Heero shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Heero, he was actually interested in something. He told me some of the things he thought were wrong and he didn't call me Master once."

Heero looked as his friend for a moment. He knew how frustrated Trowa was becoming at Quatre's continued listless behavior. "If he wants us to sleep naked under the stars and bath in streams...."

Trowa laughed. "With Duo around you'll probably be doing that anyhow."

Heero glared, but a slight smile crossed his lips. "I just hope you don't end up regretting this."

"I don't think I will."

*****

 "Master?"

Trowa turned at the sound of the quiet voice behind him. He'd come out into the garden to get away from the ridiculous amount of people that had invaded his home. "Yes, Jor."

"Your uncle is here to see you."

Trowa closed his eyes for a minute. He'd been expecting this visit for days. "Send him on out."

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later Trowa's uncle strolled out of the house and over to where Trowa waited for him.

Even if you didn't know who this man was, there was an air about him that command attention and respect. King Gawain was a man not to be trifled with, on any occasion. He was a rather large man, with dark red hair and broad shoulders. Even in his formal attire he looked every inch the strong, firm handed ruler that he was. 

Trowa once again wondered how such a strong man could have sired such an ass for a son. "Greetings, Uncle."

Gawain looked at his beloved brother's only child. He had mourned the loss of his brother and the hurts laid upon his nephew and had taken it upon himself to see that the boy was well taken care of. Although he'd never admit it, not even to himself, there were times when he wished this quiet young man was his son and heir, not Michal. "You don't seem too surprised to see me," he commented as he sat down opposite Trowa.

"Why should I be? I figured my cousin would come running to you the moment you returned. What does he want?"

"That braided boy is menace. And his master isn't much better."

"Did he tell you why Duo nearly strangled him?"

"He said he was in the gardens when the boy attacked him."

"And I don't suppose he told you what he was doing in the garden."

Gawain frowned. "What do most people do in the garden? That's not the point. The point is that boy attacked my son. Michal wants him punished and I agree. Such actions, especially from a slave, cannot be tolerated. I've come to see that the punishment is applied, personally."

"Then you should see to it that your son also receives the punishment he deserves. Duo did what he did because Michal was trying to rape my personal slave."

"What?"

Trowa nodded. "The doctor said that although he'd been injured in the attack there was no signs of semen inside his body. Just on it. He figured that Michal had probably put at least a couple of fingers into him, but Duo stopped him before he could actually complete the act."

Gawain slumped back in his seat. "That is quite an accusation you are making."

"I have Duo's eyewitness report, as well as Heero's, who wasn't too far behind Duo. I have the testimony of the boy involved, as well as the doctor who examined him. If Duo had been a few seconds slower, he would no longer be a virgin."

Gawain looked at his nephew. Disgusted as he was, he could believe that his son would do such a thing. _Where did I go wrong?_

"Master?"

Trowa turned and looked at the blonde figure that had stepped out of the shadows. He was a little surprised to see Quatre out here. The boy had refused to come anywhere near the gardens since the attack. 

Quatre noticed the other man and paused. "I am sorry, Master. I did not realize that you had company, Master. I will wait until later, Master."

Trowa shook his head. "It's all right. Come here, please."

Quatre took a couple of cautious steps forward. Trowa noticed that he had a small bundle of papers in his hand.

Trowa looked at his uncle. "This is the boy that was attacked. His name is Quatre."

"Is it true that my son attempted to rape you?"

Quatre winced slightly at the man's blunt question. He looked at Trowa.  "Master?"

Trowa nodded. "Tell him what happened."

Quatre looked over at the older man. "Yes, sir."

Gawain looked at the boy for a minute. He could detect the fine trembling that shook the boy's small frame. It was pretty obvious to him that the boy did not expect to be believed. "Did he hurt you?"

Quatre blinked. Very slowly he nodded.

"Did he put any part of his body inside yours?"

"His.....fingers."

"Where?"

Quatre's hands fluttered at the question as his face turned red. "In....."

"In your anus?"

Quatre nodded miserably, turning even redder at the blunt question. 

"Did he put his penis in you?"

"No, sir."

"Did he try?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did he make you put it in your mouth? Or touch it in anyway?"

"No, sir."

"Did he touch yours?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you like it?"

"No, sir. It hurt, sir."

Gawain watched the boy fidget. Although he was embarrassed and upset, Gawain could tell the boy wasn't lying. He looked over at Trowa. "Is Heero and that boy of his going with you on this trip?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "I'll take care of Michal." He looked back at Quatre. "My son will be punished for what he did. Although I will it admit it probably doesn't help you any, or can it change what has already happened." 

_And punishment won't be nearly as harsh as it should be, since Quatre is only a slave. Trowa watched as his uncle rose to his feet. _

"I hope you enjoy the trip," Gawain looked at his nephew. "Take care."

Trowa nodded, understanding the underlying meaning in the words. "Thank you, Uncle."

Quatre watched as the man walked away. _How could a man that seemed rather nice be so cruel?_

"What did you want to see me about, Quatre?" _What was it that brought you out into the garden, especially at night?_

"I had a question about this trip, Master."

"Yes?"

"Do I have your permission to spend some money, Master?"

"Why?"

Quatre looked down at his feet, which he shuffled nervously. "A lot of the things you have really aren't suited for travel, Master."

"And you think they should be replaced."

"Yes, Master."

"Do you have your plans written down?"

"Right here, Master." Quatre indicated the papers he held in his hands.

"Then bring them here so that I can look at them."

Quatre reluctantly moved over to the table and handed the roll of papers to Trowa.

Trowa began to read the papers, pleased at the precise way in which the information was presented. "Exactly what do you wish to purchase?"

"I made a list, Master. It's the last two pages, Master."

Trowa sighed. "Quatre?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Do you see anyone else around?"  
  


Quatre looked around the area. "No, Master."

"Then it is not necessary to address me as master."

"Yes, Master."

"Quatre."

"Yes, Master."

"I am ordering you to stop calling me master when there is no one around."

"As you command, Ma....."  
  


"**Quatre." There was a hint of warning in Trowa's voice, a warning that he was getting very fed up.**

"Yes, sir."

Trowa clenched the papers he held in his hand. "Let me make this very clear, when there is no one else around or even when Heero and Duo are here, you are to address me as Trowa or nothing at all. No sirs, masters or anything else of that matter. Is that understood?"

"Yes, s..." Quatre caught the glint in Trowa's visible eye. "Yes."

"That's better. Now come over here and sit down so that you can explain what you've got."

Quatre made his way over to where Trowa was sitting and sat down in a chair.

Trowa noticed that Quatre sat poised on the edge of the chair, as if ready to bolt at a moment's notice. With a sigh he turned to the last two pages and began to read. He was surprised at the list of things that Quatre had written down. "Where do you want to get all of this stuff?"

"There is a market on the south side of town run by some Southlanders," Quatre paused for a moment. Trowa knew he'd been about to say Master again. "They should have what I'm looking for."

"Why clothing?"  
  


"Most of what you have will not travel well. It will wrinkle badly and never look right. The things I wanted to get will be much better for travel."

"Duo will enjoy that." Trowa continued to read. "Tents? I thought we had those."

"They are too big and bulky. They would take up too much space."

Trowa shook his head. He'd always thought the damn things were too small. "Saddles? There's a barn full of tack, why get more?"

"Because the saddles you have are not designed for long distance travel. You would be very uncomfortable using them for long periods of time."

Trowa frowned and looked back over the list. It was then that he realized that there were no lists for wagons or for the people that would help take care of things. "What are you going to put in the wagons?  
  


"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I don't plan on taking any. They are unnecessary. And there are portions of the trail in which they would be totally useless, if they could even get through, which I doubt."

"What about the other people?"

"Again, not necessary." Quatre lowered his head. He knew he'd been mistaken in planning things the way he had. "I'm sorry, I'll go back and fix things." He reached out to take the papers back.

To his surprise, Trowa didn't release his grip on them. "Do you think we can really take this trip with just the five of us."

"Yes," Quatre whispered, not looking at Trowa.

"Then how about this. We do things exactly as you have them planned for two weeks, until we reach Termal. If I don't think it's working, or if Heero or Wufei don't, then we go with the original plan. I send for the servants and we wait for them to catch up. Agreed?"

Quatre looked up in surprise. "But won't that just be wasting money?"

Trowa smiled. "I have plenty to waste. I think the best way to find out if your plan will work is to try it. How long will it take you to get things ready?"

"Three days."

"Then we leave in the morning, three days from now. You have my permission to get anything you think we will need."

Quatre blinked, then nodded. "Thank you." Taking the papers he rose to his feet and left the area. As soon as he was out of sight, he let the smile he'd been holding back light his face. He couldn't believe Trowa was actually going to let him do what he wanted. He would make this the best trip anyone had ever taken it.

He didn't even wonder why he was so determined to make this trip work. If he had he might have been surprised at the answer.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Fourteen

By SilverLady

Duo yawned and rubbed his eyes as he walked down the hall to the room Trowa had allowed Quatre to use as a place to store the things he'd bought. He figured the only way to get the blonde to go to bed was to drag him there, personally.

The sight Duo saw when he opened the door was the one he expected to see. Quatre was standing in the middle of the large room, looking at the list in his hand and muttering under his breath.

Duo leaned against the doorjamb and watched for a moment. "Do you have any idea how late it is?"

Quatre looked up in surprise. He'd been so engrossed in what he was doing that he hadn't even heard the door open. "I'm almost finished. I just have a few things left to pack."

Duo sighed as he walked into the room. There didn't seem to be very many packs for a trip that was supposed to take at least three months. "You know you could have gotten help doing this."

"They wouldn't know how to do it right."

"So you're planning on doing this every day we're on this trip?"

Quatre blinked at him in surprise. "If I have to."

Duo sighed again. "Show me what you're doing. The least I can do is help." He picked up a pole that had been lying on the floor next to a large pile of material. "What's this?"

"A tent pole."

"What pack does it go in?"

"It doesn't."

Duo frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I'm going to use it as one of the support poles for the packs that we put on the pack horses."

"But I thought you said it was a tent pole."

"It's that as well. It's more practical to use an item for more than one thing. Why should I take poles for pack support and more poles for tents when the same pole will work in both situations."

Duo nodded slightly. "Makes sense." He picked up a small pack. "What's this?"

Quatre glanced over. "Clothes."

"How many of these packs are mine?"

Quatre indicated three small packs sitting a pile to Duo's left. "Those."

Duo looked them over. "Is this all the clothes I get?"

"Only one of them has much clothing in it. The other two have the other things you'll need."

Duo turned around and looked at Quatre is surprise. "What?"

"You don't need that many clothes. Though I did pack more than usual since we'll probably see a large difference in temperature between here and the mountains."

"Don't you people own anything?"

"Oh, you have a lot more things when you're moving the whole tribe. I'm just planning things as if it was a small exploring or hunting party."

"How many horses are we taking?" Duo had heard Quatre had been in the stable yesterday looking over every horse Trowa owned. Heero had told him that the Master of the Stable had commented to Trowa that the next time he went to buy horses he was taking Quatre with him. He had been very impressed with Quatre's knowledge of horseflesh.

"Ten."

Duo nearly choked. "Are you going to make all the others walk?"

"What others?"

"The other people."

"It will just be five people. One horse to ride and one to carry the extra packs. I made sure that every horse is saddle broke, so that we can switch off."

Duo hadn't believed Heero when he had said that Quatre had axed all the other help that had been planned on. "You think the five of us can take a camping trip alone?"

Quatre looked at him, innocent surprise on his face. "Of course. You are all grown men."

Duo snorted at that statement. "Do you know how many times I've been on a horse in my life? Horseback riding is not considered a necessary skill for a slave to learn."

"I've taken that into consideration. I figured we'd just travel part of the day at first to allow everyone to get used to riding."

"Why not just take a couple of wagons?"  
  
"Have you ever ridden in a wagon over most of the roads around? It's less rough on your butt to ride a horse." 

"How many tents are we taking?"

"Two. One for us and one for the others."

"This I can't wait to see. How about sleeping arrangements? I don't like the thought of sleeping on the ground."

"Neither do I." Quatre walked over to one of the packs and carefully pulled something from it. Turning, he handed it to Duo. "You can fill this bag with air. It won't leak out and it forms a cushion between you and the ground. It's very comfortable. And in the morning you deflate it and it rolls back up into this small ball."

Duo looked at the item he held in his hands. "Really?"

"Truly. It's more comfortable than what a lot of people call a normal bed. It doesn't have things to poke at you."

Duo yawned as he handed the roll back to Quatre. "If I'm going to help, we'd best get moving. I want to get to bed."

Quatre laughed and nodded. "Come on. I'll show you how to pack the small tent."

Duo watched for a moment as Quatre ducked around several piles of things. It was nice to see the blonde actually enjoying himself. _Maybe Trowa's got the right idea after all. I just hope the rest of us survive it._

*****

Duo groaned and held his hands to his head. The ringing in his ears was driving him up the wall. He had a headache to end all headaches.

Finally he realized that the ringing noise wasn't in his head. It was coming from the bell hung over the bed on the other side of the room. "Damn it, Quatre! Will you go see what the hell he wants! That damn bell's giving me a headache."

The bell ringing was his only answer.

Rolling over he prepared to throw his pillow at Quatre, only to realize at the last moment that there was no one there. "Where the hell is he?"

Groaning again Duo rolled out of bed. "I'm going to do something rude with that damn thing in a minute." Continuing to mutter oaths under his breath he headed down the access hallway to Trowa's rooms.

Trowa looked up when the door opened. "It's about time you..... Duo, what are you doing here?"

Duo glared bleary eyed at Trowa. After finally persuading Quatre to go to bed, Duo had headed to Heero's room to make sure there wasn't anything Heero wanted before he went to bed. 

There had been. Him. 

He'd finally climbed into his own bed an hour or two before being rudely awakened. "I figured it would just be easier to come tell you that you're wasting your time. He's not in the room."  
  


"Where is he?"

"How should I know? He didn't tell me and leaving me a note would be useless."

Trowa sighed, but before he could say anything else there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

The door opened and a young boy came into the room. "Lord Trowa?"

"Yes?"

"Felix sent me to tell you that your slave is out in the stables, preparing the horses. He's nearly finished, too."

Trowa smiled at the boy. "Thank you for letting me know. Tell Felix I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Yes, Lord." The boy turned and scurried off.

Duo rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

Trowa looked over at him for a minute. "Go get Heero up and tell him to meet me in the front drawing room. I'll get some kind of breakfast rounded up."

Duo blinked. "You're serious?"

"I did tell him that we were leaving in the morning. It's morning. I guess I should have told him that noon would be better, but it's too late now. I'd hate for him to have wasted all that effort. Heero can sleep later."

"I mean about me getting Heero up now. Do you have any idea what kind of a bear he is in the morning?"

"No. I've never had to wake him."

Duo huffed. "If I'm not back in an hour, bury me in that field out near the other house. The one with the big tree. I like it there." With a fatalistic sigh, Duo turned and headed towards Heero's rooms.

Trowa shook his head as he watched him leave. There were times when Duo could be downright melodramatic.

"William!" he called out, knowing that the man would be hovering nearby. It was his turn to watch the master's door.

Immediately a stout looking man entered the room. He was dressed in full leather armor and had a sword slung over his back. The only reason his sword was on his back was because he had a large mace in his right hand. William was one of the trained guards Trowa's father had deemed necessary sometime ago. In fact, William was one of the original ones.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Could you have someone go and wake Wufei? Tell him breakfast will be in the front drawing room as soon as he can get there. Then send a message to the kitchen to have some sort of breakfast made up and sent to the room."

"Of course, my Lord." Saluting smartly, William turned and left the room.

Trowa sighed as he turned and headed back into his bedroom to dress. He had found clothing laid out for him when he'd gotten up that morning and had a feeling that this was what Quatre expected him to wear. He wondered if the others had received the same small reminder.

He studied the shirt as he picked it up. It was a dark green color, with a small bit of embroidery down the sleeves in a richer shade of green. The design of the shirt was simple, designed to be comfortable but not too clinging. 

The pants were also of the same shade of green as the shirt. They would fit him well, without being so tight as to chaff as he rode. The dark brown leather boots were also designed for riding, with a bit of heel to keep his foot from slipping through the stirrups, but not so much that walking in them would be awkward.  

As he slipped into the clothes, he was impressed by the fact that they fit him perfectly. He had been unable to go with Quatre yesterday when the boy had gone to purchase the clothing and other supplies. He'd asked Quatre if he could get the things for him and Quatre had assured him he knew what sizes were needed. Apparently he had.

Quatre had seemed a bit surprised that he trusted him enough to go alone, but Trowa knew that this was a necessary step in earning the boy's loyalty.  He hadn't told the boy that there was no way for him to leave the city without being stopped by a city Guardsman. Quatre's clothing alone marked him a slave and even if he knew that and changed, everyone in the city had to have identification papers with them. Quatre didn't.

So he'd given him a letter, stating that Quatre was purchasing things on his behalf and that the merchants were to send the bills to him, and sent him on his way.  The letter would also let any Guardsman who stopped him know that Quatre was on legitimate business for his master. 

He had been relieved when Felix reported Quatre's return four hours later. He hadn't wanted to admit he'd been anxiously awaiting that bit of news. He didn't want to think of what could have happened to Quatre if he'd tried to leave. The Guardsmen weren't known for their gentleness in dealing with runaway slaves. 

A final glance around the room to ensure everything that was needed had been gotten and then Trowa turned and left the room.

_I hope I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life._

*****

Duo paused outside the door to Heero's bedroom. He'd been quite serious about what a bear Heero could be if woken up before he was ready. Duo had made that mistake once. It had taken nearly two weeks for the bruises to disappear. It had been two days before he'd been able to talk right.

He had often wondered what kind of life Heero had led to have that kind of reaction. Hell, even he wasn't that bad when he woke up and he'd been trained to be a killer.

With a sigh of resignation, he opened the door and walked into the room.

After closing the door he looked over to the large bed, where Heero lay sprawled. The softest of exhalations was the only noise he made as he slept.

Duo drank in the sight for a moment. It was rare that he was awake enough to enjoy the sight of Heero asleep. When he would leave him in the night he was usually so exhausted that he could barely see straight.

"Heero," he whispered softly. He knew that Heero would usually awaken at the slightest noise.

"Go away," a voice growled. 

_Yup.__ Definitely bear mode. "You have to get up. Trowa wants you to meet him in the front drawing room."_

A dark blue eye glared at him. "Do you want to die?"

"Not today. But you do have to get up. Trowa made the mistake of not specifying what time he wanted to leave today and Quatre's already got everything ready. Seems morning means something different to him." He smiled as he walked across the room. "Besides, if I'm up than you should be too."

As he stopped next to the bed a hand snapped out and grabbed his wrist. With a quick jerk, Heero yanked him down onto the bed. "You bet I'm up."

Duo laughed softly. He could feel how up Heero was. "We really need to get moving."

Heero arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Duo blushed. "Not that kind of moving."

"We won't have much opportunity after today."

"It's not like they don't know what's going on." Duo smiled slightly. "And Quatre really knows what's going on."

Heero looked at Duo for a minute. "What?"

Duo reached up and laid his hand on Heero's cheek. "Do you think, after we leave the city, we could pretend that we're just two people in love? Not master and slave."

Heero rubbed his cheek against Duo's hand. "You stopped being my slave a long time ago."

"I know, but...."

Heero placed a hand across Duo's mouth. "We don't have to pretend. We can be exactly what we are. I'm sure that Trowa and Wufei won't mind." With that he leaned in and pressed his lips to Duo's mouth.

Duo sighed. He wasn't sure Heero quite understood what he wanted. But this would be enough for now. He'd work on the rest.

Just as Duo felt himself melting into the kiss, Heero pulled away and sat up. "We need to get going." With a slight smirk, Heero was out of bed and padding naked towards the bathroom.

"Bastard," Duo muttered under his breath, staring at the ceiling. _Why does he always do that to me?_

Heero glanced back over his shoulder. "Join me?"

"Hell, yes." Duo jumped out of the bed and followed Heero into the bathroom. "But won't we be late?"

"Not very."

*****

Wufei glared at Trowa as he walked into the room. "Did you have to send that behemoth to wake me up?"

Trowa smiled. "I just asked if someone would get you. I didn't specify who."

Wufei walked over to the table and snatched a muffin from the basket. "Who's idea was it to get up at this ungodly hour of the morning anyway?"

"I'm afraid I didn't tell Quatre any specific time."

"You should have," Heero commented as he walked into the room. "Apparently his people get moving a lot faster than us."

Trowa watched as Duo followed Heero into the room. He made note of the fact that Duo was walking slightly odd and that his hair seemed to have been rather hastily braided.

"You certainly have moved fast enough," Trowa replied.

Heero arched an eyebrow at the double meaning he heard in Trowa's words. He was about to retort when a soft voice interrupted him.

"Master?"

Trowa turned to find Quatre standing in the doorway. He was about to reprimand him when he remembered that he hadn't included Wufei in the list he'd given Quatre the other night. He was going to have to remedy that. He sure didn't want to be 'Mastered' for this entire trip.

"Yes?"

"Everything is ready, whenever you wish to leave, Master."

Trowa nodded. "Thank you." He glanced over at the other three men. 

He shook his head when he noticed that Duo had picked up at least three muffins and was in the process of stuffing one of them into his mouth. He hoped Quatre had taken Duo's seemingly non-ending appetite into consideration when planning the food for this trip.

"Shall we go then?"

"But..." Duo started to protest around the muffin he was presently eating.

"You can eat while we ride," Heero informed him, smacking Duo's hand away from the muffin basket. 

Duo sighed. "If you say so."

Trowa looked over at Wufei, who nodded slightly.

"Since I'm up anyway, we might as well get going."

Trowa looked back at Quatre, who stood patiently in the doorway. "Where are the horses?"

"In the stable yard, Master. I can bring them around front, Master."

Trowa shook his head. "No need. We can just as easily start from there." Moving across the room he stopped in front of Quatre. "Lead on."

Quatre nodded slightly, then turned and headed down the hall. Trowa followed quietly behind.

Heero glanced over at Duo before leaving the room behind Wufei. Duo quickly reached out and snatched another muffin before following.

*****

Trowa stopped and looked at the sight in front of him. Ten horses, saddled and packed, stood quietly waiting for them. He had a feeling that Quatre had done everything himself.

"Quatre."

"Yes, Master."

"I want you to be sure everyone can take care of their own horses by the time we get ready to move on tomorrow. That includes saddling and stowing the packs."

"Yes, Master."

Wufei frowned, but said nothing. 

Heero nodded his approval. It didn't seem quite right to expect Quatre to do everything on this trip. Not when they were all perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. _Maybe that was part of Quatre intended to show us with this trip. We've become awful reliant on slaves to do all the work._

"Do you have any specific horse chosen for any of us?" Trowa asked as he walked up to the horses. 

"Yes, Master." He indicated the dark brown horse he was standing next to. "This one is yours. The white one is for Heero, the black for Duo and the gray for Wufei."

Trowa nodded. That left the golden colored one for Quatre. _An appropriate choice.___

As he moved forward to mount, Quatre was there to assist. Trowa was about to protest that he was perfectly capable of getting on a horse without help, but something stopped him. Quatre was willingly helping and he wouldn't stop him.

Within a few minutes all five were mounted and ready to move out. Duo was a little nervous about this but he refused to let anyone know just how unnerved he felt. _Everything will be just fine. Don't let the horse know he scares the heck out of you. Duo glanced down. __And don't think about how far it is to the ground if you fall._

Trowa looked around at the others. They all seemed to be ready. "Quatre."

"Yes, Master?"

"Lead on."

Quatre blinked for a moment, then nodded. Nudging his horse into a walk he led the small group out towards the street. __

*****

 "Has he left?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. See that this trip really is his last."

"Of course, sir."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Fifteen

By SilverLady

It took nearly an hour for Duo to become comfortable enough to begin to enjoy the ride. Once he decided that the horse wasn't going to throw him into the street and he didn't have to maintain such a death grip on the pommel of the saddle, he began looking around. _The city looks a lot different at this angle._

Quatre had obviously memorized the roads he wanted to take out of the city. He guided them unerringly through the crowded streets and out through the northern gate. 

Soon the crowds thinned and the rows of houses became seemingly never-ending fields. 

Duo looked around, enjoying the sights. He'd rarely been this way and the scenery was different from what he was used to. Most of the time when he had been taken from the city it was to head west, towards the ocean estates that studded the shoreline in that direction. 

The sun had just reached its zenith, and Duo was growing hot and uncomfortable, when Quatre swung his horse off the road and into a stand of trees. In the center of the trees was a decent sized clearing, one that had obviously been used for stopovers before.

_Lunch, was the only thing Duo could think of. He would be glad to get off the horse for a while and stretch his legs. __And I thought wrapping my legs around Heero could be rough._

He watched as the others dismounted and was just a little pleased to see that none of them seemed to be in much better shape than him. Except Quatre. The little blonde bounced off the horse like he was getting out of a chair.

"How long are we stopping?" Wufei asked, sitting down on a log.

"I don't know. Not long, I'm sure," Trowa replied. 

Heero sighed as he sat down. He'd thought he'd been in pretty good shape, but this ride was proving him wrong. He was already aching in places he didn't want to think about.

Duo frowned as he watched Quatre. He seemed to be taking a lot of things off the horses for a simple lunch break. _Maybe he's giving the horses a break, too._

Trowa blinked in surprise as Quatre began to pace out an area on the ground. _What in the world is he up to?_

Before he could open his mouth to ask the blonde what he was doing, Duo had risen to his feet and walked over.

"What are you doing?" Duo asked, watching as Quatre began laying the poles he'd brought with him on the ground.

Quatre didn't even glance up. "Laying out where the big tent should go. I figured it would be best to get it arranged first, so that I know how much room I have left."

"Why?"

"I don't want it to be crowded."

"No. I mean why are you laying out the tent. I thought this was just a lunch break."

Quatre glanced at Duo, a look of surprise appearing on his face. "I told you last night that I only figured on riding half a day for the first few days, so that you could get used to spending so much time in the saddle. This is a good place to spend the rest of the day and tonight. I checked."

Duo could only stare at Quatre as he continued to unload packs. "What about lunch?"

Quatre laughed at the hint of a whine in Duo's voice. He had noticed how much the braided boy ate. "If you could wait a minute, I'll get lunch out of the packs."

"Don't tell me it's dried beef or something."  
  


Quatre glanced back at Duo. "Why?" _From what I can tell, you'll eat just about anything._

"Ummm. Because….because Heero doesn't like it. It gets stuck in his teeth." Duo ignored the snort from behind him. "And it's all….dry and stuff. That's why."

Quatre shook his head as began to pull several wrapped items from one of the packs. "Then Heero doesn't have to worry. It's not dried beef."

Duo eyed the odd assortment of things Quatre was removing from the pack. "Then what is it? Don't you need a fire or something?"

"I'll get a fire started in a little while for supper. This is just fine the way it is. I had the cook make it for us last night." He glanced at Duo. "If you get the plates and things out of that pack at your feet, we can serve the others."

Duo blinked. "Oh. Okay."

Within a few minutes Quatre had three plates made up. Taking to of them, he walked across the campsite to where Trowa, Wufei and Heero were sitting. "I'm sorry it took so long, Master."

Trowa accepted the plate Quatre handed him. He barely glanced at what was on it though. "Quatre?"

Quatre paused in the act of handing the other plate he carried to Wufei. "Yes, Master?"

"What did we discuss the other night?"

"What night, Master?"

"In the garden. After you talked to my uncle."

Duo stiffened in surprised. He hadn't known that Gawain had been to Trowa's. _I wonder what he wanted. As if I didn't know.  
  
_

Quatre blinked. "But…"

"Wufei is included on that list. Understood?"

"Yes, Mas….."

"Quatre."

"I understand. I'm sorry." He turned back toward Wufei.

Wufei glared at him, then snatched the plate from his hand. He was starved and he had to wait for this boy to be reprimanded. _Breakfast was too damn long ago. _He glanced down at the food on the plate. The only thing on it that he recognized was the biscuit. _Which is probably hard.__ Damn, I wish Trowa hadn't come up with this fool idea. Or that I'd had the sense not to agree to come along._

Heero was also eyeing the plate that Duo had brought to him. He looked up at Duo, a questioning look in his eyes. Duo just shrugged. He had no idea what this was, either.

"Quatre?" Trowa spoke up, noticing the odd looks the others were giving their plates.

Quatre was walking back to where the other were sitting, another plate in his hand. He handed the plate to Duo. "Yes?"

"Exactly what is this?" Trowa pointed at the food on his plate. 

"Meat and potatoes."

Trowa looked down. The meat was like nothing he'd ever seen before and if those were potatoes, he'd never seen them made like that. "Would you mind explaining exactly what kind of meat? And what did you have done to the potatoes?"

Quatre glanced around at the others, realizing that none of them were eating. _Stupid.__ Just because you eat this all the time doesn't mean they do._

Trowa noticed the odd look that came into Quatre's eyes as he looked down. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "The meat is a kind of bird that we raise. I found a couple of them at the market. They're dipped in seasoned flour and deep fried. The same thing is done to the potatoes."

Duo sighed. He was too damn hungry to worry about exactly what it was Quatre had dreamed up for them. Picking up the meat, he took a small bite. "Hey, this is pretty good." And with that pronouncement, Duo proceeded to devour his lunch.

After watching Duo for a moment the others also began to eat. 

Trowa had nearly finished eating when he realized that Quatre had not joined them. Looking around the campsite, he spotted Quatre, carrying a bundle of wood to the firepit that was set to one side of the clearing. "Quatre, have you eaten?"

Quatre carefully set the wood down. "No." _Master._

"Why not?"

Quatre looked at him. "I have to….." He waved his hands around the site. 

Trowa glanced around. He realized that in the time he'd been eating, the rest of the packs had been removed from the horses and carefully set in piles. Even the saddles had been take care of and now the horses were happily grazing on the grass that grew around the edges of the site. It was also apparent that this wasn't the first load of wood Quatre had gathered. A neat stack of small sticks had been arranged in the firepit. 

Trowa sighed. "Quatre, are there certain things that have to be done when you first make camp?"

"Yes."

"And is that what you've been doing while we've been sitting here eating?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you hungry?"

Quatre looked down at his feet. "I had…"  
  


"Quatre."

"Yes," Quatre whispered. He could feel his stomach growl in agreement. He looked up. "But I…."

Trowa looked at him and Quatre fell silent. "From now on," Trowa glanced at the other three. "no one eats until those necessary things are taken care of. Understood?"

Wufei opened his mouth to protest, but a look from Heero silenced him.

Trowa watched Quatre. "Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now get yourself something to eat and come over here and sit down."

Quatre hesitated for a minute, then did as Trowa bid. He couldn't really understand Trowa, though. It seemed silly for the others to just stand around and wait for him to tend to the horses and gather wood.

*****

Duo walked over to where Quatre had set down a pile of fabric. Although he still ached, it wasn't too bad anymore. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to set up the big tent."

"What do you want me to do?"

Quatre looked at him. "You could help me unfold it."

"Sure." Duo looked the pile over. "How?"

With a small smile Quatre showed Duo how the tent was carefully folded to conserve space.

When they got it all laid out, Duo was a little surprised at how big it really was. "Now what?"

Quatre picked up to of the poles. "Take these and put them together like so." He showed Duo how the two pieces fit neatly together, making one larger pole.

Duo eyed the pole. "It won't break, will it?"

Quatre shook his head. "They're much stronger than they look. The wood is ironwood."

"Oh." Carefully he studied the two pieces he'd picked up. It took a few minutes, but he figured out how the wood had been cut so that the two pieces would fit and lock together. "Neat."

"Now we lay each pole at the points where the holes in the tent are." Quatre showed Duo where holes had been punched through the tent in several places and then reinforced with metal rings. 

"This is going to stand up?"

"It will when we're done," Quatre reassured him. 

Duo shook his head. "If you say so." Grabbing a pole he placed it where Quatre showed him.

Step by step Quatre explained to Duo exactly how the large tent was set up. He didn't notice that the others had wandered over and were watching.

When Quatre explained to Duo how to raise the corner poles so that they could finish setting them up, he didn't see the look that passed between Heero and Trowa. The two moved forward to take up positions in the empty corners so that, much to Quatre's surprise, the tent went up smoothly. 

After Quatre was certain that the poles were set properly, he ducked inside the tent with the final pole. This pole was nearly half again as large as the others and would serve as the center support. Carefully placing one end into the ring for it, he maneuvered the pole into its upright position. Only the weight of the tent and the firm ground it was sitting on would keep the pole upright.

Trowa ducked into the tent and looked around. He was impressed by the size of the space. It was a lot bigger than he had though it would be when he'd seen the size of the pile of material Quatre had pulled out, proclaiming that it was the large tent. 

"But exactly what are we supposed to sleep on?" Trowa asked, eyeing the ground.

Quatre jumped a little at the sound of Trowa's voice. He hadn't realized that he'd come into the tent. "I was just going to go and get the other things."

Trowa nodded. "Show me what you need. I'll help."

Quatre could only stare at Trowa in disbelief.

Trowa blinked. "What? Don't you think I'm capable of helping?"

Quatre shook his head, hoping he hadn't accidentally insulted Trowa. "No. It's just that…."

"I told you, we are going to help. I don't expect you to do it all yourself."

Quatre blinked. "But if you had brought all those other people with you, you would have expected them to do everything."

Trowa sighed. "You have a point. Maybe this trip will do all of us some good. Now, let get the rest of this tent set up. I'm curious to see what kind of sleeping arrangements you have planned. You did say that you just slept on the ground."

Quatre sighed as he walked back out of the tent. "Actually, I said the poorer people sleep on the ground. And only if the ground isn't too hard. We do like to have comfort in our lives, as well."

_Touché, little one.__ Maybe you can teach me just how civilized your culture really is. Then, perhaps I can show my uncle that different doesn't especially mean ignorant._

*****

Heero was waiting outside the tent when Trowa stepped back out. "Well?"

"The tent itself seems large enough. I'll just reserve final judgment until I see how he arranges it."

Heero nodded. "Duo said he found a pool not too far from here. I thought maybe we'd go for a swim."

"That sounds like a good idea. But I did tell Quatre that we'd help him get the things moved into the tent first."

"That isn't necessary." Quatre had walked back up and heard what Heero had said. "I…I'd like to do it by myself, if you don't mind. I want to get everything set up so that you can see what you think."

Trowa looked at him. "Are you sure? I told you I don't expect you to do everything yourself."

"I'm sure."

"All right. But holler if you need help."

"The hardest part is finished. The other tent won't be too hard to put up and I thought I'd do that in a little while."

"Are you sure you don't want to go swimming? It will help you cool off some."

Quatre shook his head. "I'm sure."  _I don't know how to swim._

Trowa watched as Quatre ducked into the tent with his bundle.

Heero noticed the look on Trowa's face. He was just as good at reading Trowa as Trowa was at reading him. "I can have Duo stay if you want."

"No, that's all right. Besides, if I know Duo, he's already enjoying the water."

Heero gave a slight smile. Duo had taken to swimming like he was a fish. There were times when it was damn near impossible to get him back out once he got in. "True. But I'll send him back early to help Quatre with supper."

"Food might be enough incentive to get him out of the water."

"Maybe."

*****

Duo looked around the campsite in surprise. Quatre had been very busy in the time he had been gone. An area near the fire had obviously been designated as the dining area and Quatre had set it up for supper. _Where in the world did he get a table? _A fire was going in the firepit and there were several pots around it, including one that hung from a tripod set directly over the fire.

"Quatre?"

Quatre stuck his head out of the large tent, where he'd been finishing the sleeping arrangement. "I didn't expect you back so soon."  
  


"Figured you might need some help with dinner."

"Not at the moment."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"You can check and make sure that Heero will be happy with his bed and things."

Duo nodded. After carefully laying the small towel he'd taken with him on a log near the fire to dry, he stepped into the tent.

And stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe what Quatre had done to the inside of the tent. Several small rugs were scattered about the ground, giving the area a bit more of a home-like appearance. Three chairs were arranged around another small table to make up a sitting area. On the table was a small lamp, obviously placed there to provide light for anyone making use of the table. Two large pieces of cloth were hung between the center pole and two of the corners, screening off the area and making it look like rooms. 

_Where in the heck did he put everything?_

Following Quatre, he passed through an almost hidden slit in one piece of the material, to find himself in what had obviously been set up as a bedroom. Yet another table, this one low to the ground, was set up next to the bed. On the table was a candle, what appeared to be a glass and a small bowl. 

The bed was rather low, but that wasn't too surprising. Though the way things kept appearing Duo wouldn't have been too astonished to see a full sized bed set up. He had a feeling the carefully arranged sheets and blankets were not typical, but had been added to take into consideration the sleeping habits of the person that would use this bed. 

Off to one side he spotted several familiar packs. He recognized them as the ones that Heero had brought. Though they had been carefully laid out, none of them had been opened. There was another rug here, apparently set up as a place to set one of the chairs from the other area on. That way, Heero could sit in the chair to get out of his clothing and yet the chair wouldn't sink into the ground.

Quatre indicated the bed. "Make sure it's firm enough for him. I wasn't sure exactly how he would like it."

Duo approached the bed cautiously, remembering Quatre's description of the mattresses he'd brought. Expecting to find himself flat on the ground at any moment, Duo carefully sat on the edge. 

To his surprise, he found himself sitting about six inches off the floor. The mattress beneath him gave a little, conforming to the shape of his butt, but that was all.

Continuing to move carefully, Duo laid back on the bed. 

Quatre smiled at the look of surprise that appeared on Duo's face. "Is it all right?"

  
Duo looked up at Quatre, who now stood anxiously above him. With a sigh, he relaxed full on the bed. "Hell, yes. It's fine. Do I get one?"

Quatre laughed. "Yes."

"Cool." Duo shifted and felt the mattress give beneath him. It was like floating. "Though I don't think I'd want to do anything too vigorous on it."

Quatre tried to control the blush as he realized what Duo meant. Unbidden, the picture of him and Heero as they had been in the room that day rose up in Quatre's mind. "They really are pretty tough." _How else do you think we make babies?_

Duo sighed again. "Yeah, I guess they'd have to be." He got carefully to his feet. "Though they are a bit low."

Quatre nodded. "That might take some getting used to."

"Definitely." Duo looked around the area again. "I don't think Heero will mind this."

"Good. I figured they might want some privacy. Though they'll have to be careful. The material I used for walls isn't very heavy and when the lights are lit you can pretty much see through them."

Duo eyed the candle. "Is that safe?" He shuddered at the though of the tent catching fire from the flame. 

Quatre walked over to the small table and picked up the glass. Duo realized that there was no bottom to the glass as Quatre carefully placed it over the candle. He also realized that the candle was sitting on some kind of small metal base. 

"The base is weighted so that it can't tip over. The glass keeps drafts away from the flame so that it burns steady." He glanced at Duo. "Fire in a tent is something you have to be very careful with."

Duo nodded. He should realize that someone who lived his whole life in a tent would come up with ways to keep it safe.

"Anything I can help you with?"

Quatre pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Duo. "If you could double check and make sure everything that's listed there is out by the fire, it would help."

Duo looked down at the piece of paper as if it was something foreign. "Quatre."

Quatre was reading off another list he'd pulled from his pouch. "Yeah?" he asked absently.

"Why don't you just tell me what you need done?"

Quatre glanced up. "What's wrong? Can't you read my writing? I know it's kinda messy but I ….."

"It's not your writing. I'm sure it's perfectly understandable. It's just…." Duo looked up. "I don't know how to read."

Quatre stared at Duo in stunned disbelief. "You don't?"  
  


"It's another one of those unimportant skills that slaves don't need."

"You can't read at all?"

"Or write. Not even my own name. Hell, I'm not even completely sure how to spell my name." Duo gave a slight smile. "For that matter, it's not even my real name."

"What is your real name?"

"I don't know. The guy that found me named me. Maxwell, cause that was the town he was near and Duo because I was the second kid he'd picked up that day." Duo's eyes grew sad at the memories. "The other boy died a few days later. He got sick. He called him Solo."

Quatre was silent for a minute. "I thought you were born a slave."

"Don't know for sure. I don't remember my parents. Maybe they were or maybe they weren't."

"You mean this guy just took you and sold you."

"Yeah. That's what he did. He liked picking up street kids and stuff. No one to complain if one went missing."

"How old were you?"  
  


"Four."

Quatre closed his eyes. Again and again he was stunned by the behavior of this supposedly civilized group of people. A lost child found by someone in his tribe would have been taken in and raised as part of the group. No child was without some kind of family.

"Duo?"  
  


"Yeah."

"Today was the first time you've ever been on a horse, wasn't it?"

"Uh. Yeah."

Quatre looked at him. "I'm sorry. If I had known…"  
  


"Hey, it's all right," Duo interrupted. "After a while I started enjoying myself. Things sure look different from the back of a horse." He was quiet for a minute. "But you sure didn't seemed bothered by the ride."

Quatre smiled. "I've been riding horses for as long as I can remember. I learned to ride before I learned to walk."

"You must miss it."

Quatre's eyes grew sad. "Yes," he whispered.

Duo mentally kicked himself for bringing the subject up. He hadn't meant to make the other boy sad again. He was glad to see Quatre beginning to show signs of life again.

"So, if you tell me what's on this list, I'll go check things out."

Quatre smiled, understanding the diversion for what it was meant to be. "All right." He took the list back from Duo and began reading it off.

Duo listened carefully, keeping careful track of what Quatre was saying. _ How does a poor nomad learn to read and write? Unless there is more to this poor nomad than meets the eye. He did indicate that Kadir guy was his father and someone said he was a chief. What does that make Quatre?_

*****

Quatre slipped quietly out of the tent and sat down on the small log he'd placed outside. Dinner had gone better than he'd expected and everyone seemed okay with the sleeping arrangement.  Wufei had grumbled about the injustice of being forced to sleep on the ground instead of the comfort of one of the large travel wagons that were usually used on these trips, but he'd disappeared into his 'room' soon after the sun had set.

Quatre had a feeling Wufei just liked to grumble a lot.

He sighed as the wind whispered through the trees, cooling the air. He'd carefully checked the sky and was certain that there was no rain in the area and the wind seemed to confirm this conclusion. There was no smell of rain on it, a good sign. It was something he would have to take more into consideration than he was used to. You didn't have to worry about rain much in the desert. 

Although he knew it wouldn't be too difficult for him to slip away, he also knew there would be no point in it. He had no home to go to and in this country he would simply be hunted down like some animal. Which, to many of the people he had so far met, he was.

He wrapped his arms around his waist as he stared up into the night sky. He barely even noticed the tears that tracked down his cheeks. 

_I'm trying, Great One. Angil said You have Your reasons for doing the things You do. But I really don't understand what the purpose is this time. You've allowed my people to be butchered like animals until I am the only one left. What purpose do You wish for me to serve? Am I, too, to be a sacrificed in the name of progress? What is it that You wish for me to do? Please, help me understand._

The soft whisper of the wind was his only answer. But this time, the wind seemed to actually be saying something.

_Love.___


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Sixteen

By SilverLady

Trowa sighed softly and rolled over. After a moment of quiet reflection, he frowned. There was something different about this morning. Blinking, he opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. The sight of the canvas walls of the tent brought things into perspective. 

With another sigh, he stretched and sat up. The mattress beneath him sifted slightly at his change it weight and then was still again. Trowa hadn't expected to sleep that well, he rarely did when not in his own bed, but to his surprise he hadn't woken once. The air mattress was as comfortable as Quatre had promised. In fact, for the first time in a long time his leg didn't ache so badly. It was just a small twinge, not the sharp pain he was used to.

Throwing back the covers, he looked down at the leg.  From hip to ankle it was marked by long scars, some of them rather thick and heavy, others thin and barely noticeable. The doctors had constantly told him he was very lucky that he hadn't lost the leg, but sometime he wondered. The pain he lived with every day was a reminder of what had happened and what he'd lost.

At that moment, he heard the sound of movement outside the tent. _Who could be up this early?_

Moving carefully, Trowa got to his feet. Grabbing the long robe that had been left on the chair, he headed out.

Blinking in surprise, Trowa took in the scene that met his eyes when he exited the tent. Quatre was scurrying about the site, gathering wood and placing it in the fire pit. The blonde was dressed and looked disgustingly alert for so early in the morning.

What was more surprising, though, was the sight of Duo sitting on a log next to the fire. He was trying to untangle his long locks of hair and didn't seem to be having a good time of it. His eyes were still half closed and it was obvious he was not very awake.

Trowa also noted that, in the place of the smaller tent the two had slept in, there was a pile of packs.

After slipping on a pair of soft slippers left conveniently by the entry, Trowa walked over to where Duo was sitting. "You should get Heero to help you with that," he commented as he sat down. 

Duo blinked at him blearily. "I thought about it."

"You are up awfully early."

Duo nodded towards Quatre, who was working on getting a fire started. "Mister Energy there dragged me out of bed a little while ago, by starting to take down the damn tent. He said he wanted to do it early, so that it would be ready to go. Why does anyone have to be that awake at this time of the morning?"

"Living in the desert, they probably got moving early to take advantage of the cooler morning air."

Duo glared at Trowa through his hair. "You don't have to be logical about it."

Trowa smiled slightly. "And you think Heero is a bear in the morning."

"At least I don't try and kill you," Duo grumbled under his breath, going back to disentangling his hair.

Trowa looked at Duo. "When did Heero ever try that?"

"The first and only time I ever tried to wake him up before he was ready."

"You're serious."

"Yeah. He damn near choked me to death before he realized who I was. I couldn't talk for two days afterwards."

Trowa was stunned. He knew that Heero's early life had been hard, but what in the world could have happened to bring about a reaction like that.

Duo smiled slightly. "He did spend the next two weeks apologizing for it. That was about how long it took for the bruises to fade. Every time he saw them he'd wince and say he was sorry. I learned to make sure he knew it was me before I said anything to him."

"Did he ever say why he did it?"

"No. I think it's something he doesn't want to talk about. I figured someday, maybe he will."

Trowa slowly shook his head. "I knew his father was a harsh man, but…. I never imagined it was so bad that he felt he had to defend himself all the time."

Duo looked at Trowa. "You know what his father was like?"

Trowa nodded. "I saw the scars. He was good at hiding them from most. Not that it was too hard. Most people simply turned a blind eye on the abuse. It was none of their business. Masan Yuy was a harsh man and how he raised his son was his business."

"What about Heero's mother?"

"Nobody knows who she is. Masan just showed up at court one day with a baby boy. He never said where he'd found him or anything about his parentage. No one is even sure if Masan was really Heero's father or not. If Heero knows he's never said. Masan made him his heir and that's all that anyone cared about." He glanced at Duo. "Of course, he'd be furious if he knew his son and heir was sleeping with another man, and a servant to boot."

Duo winced and lowered his head. "Then maybe it's a good thing he'd dead."

"I suppose."

"Trowa?" Duo's voice was just a whisper.

"What?"

"Do you…. Do you think he's just doing it because his father would have hated it?"  
  


"Doing what?"

"Sleeping with me. Having sex with me."

Trowa was shocked by the question. He turned to look at Duo, about to berate him for such a question, when he really looked at him. He realized that he was getting a glimpse at the boy beneath the facade. The one who had been so badly hurt by the things that had happened to him. The one who couldn't believe that anyone could truly care about him. "Duo, Heero never does anything he doesn't want to. Not anymore. I think you can safely say that Heero cares a great deal for you. How deep that goes is hard for me to say. That's between you and him. If you are worried about his reasons why don't you talk to him? It's best to get them out and talked about then to let them fester beneath the surface."

"I'm afraid of what he will say," Duo admitted.

"Isn't it best to know now than to wonder?"

Duo sighed. "I suppose." He rose to his feet. "I'm going to go see if he's awake yet."

"Sound like a good idea. You might want to check on Wufei as well." Trowa glanced over at Quatre, who seemed oblivious as to what was happening around him. "I think Quatre is intent on getting breakfast ready, whether we are or not."

Duo smiled. ""He is set on his own little track, isn't he?" Duo headed across the clearing towards the tent.

Trowa shook his head. He had a feeling that this single mindedness of Quatre's was just his way of coping with what was happening.  By focusing on the small things, like getting breakfast ready, he didn't have to think about the overall situation.

*****

Wufei sat on a log staring at the fire. He didn't want to admit it, but he had actually had a decent night's rest. He had been prepared to have a long list of complaints that morning, but so far he'd found nothing to really complain about. Of course, he was ready for anything that might come his way. Like this breakfast that the little blonde was preparing. 

Quatre smiled a little as he brought the plate to Wufei. Of the four, the foreign boy stuck Quatre as the most difficult to please. He had heard no complaints about the sleeping arrangements this morning, which was a good sign.

Wufei took the offered plate and glared at it. A mound of yellow something was sitting in the middle of it, surrounded by several pieces of brown colored bread. "What is this?"

"Scrambled eggs and toast."

Wufei eyed the eggs. He'd never seen them made like this. "What is in the eggs?"

"Eggs and a bit of cheese."

Trowa was also looking at his eggs. He noticed that even Duo had yet to get up the nerve to actually try them yet. "Quatre?"

Quatre turned to look at Trowa. "Yes…."

Trowa heard the cut off 'Master' and looked at the boy for a minute. "Where did you get the eggs?"

"I brought them with me."

Duo made a slight face. He didn't even want to think about what condition an egg might be in after being in a pack for at least a day and half.

Trowa looked at his plate. "Quatre, eggs don't keep very well."

"Not the way you keep them, no."

"And you keep them differently?"

Quatre nodded. He knew what everyone's concern was. "They are fine."

"You had to have packed them the night before last."

"Yes."

"Then how do you think they managed to remain edible for this amount of time?"

"Because I know a little trick. If you dip the eggs in paraffin they will keep much longer that if you leave them as they are. The paraffin seals off the little holes in the egg and prevents air from getting into the egg, which is what makes it go bad." (1)

Duo sighed. So far Quatre had been right about things. Picking up his fork, he bravely took a bite of his eggs. To his surprise, they were very good. "Hey, they're pretty good."

Quatre smiled slightly. He knew that if Duo was willing to eat it, the others would follow. Duo might seem like an indiscriminate eater, but he was actually very picky about what he ate. If Duo said something wasn't any good, the others would listen. _Another hurdle crossed._

*****

Trowa stood watching Quatre. He'd gone down to the stream to wash up and had come back to find Quatre busily loading the pack horses.

"Quatre?"

Quatre froze. "Yes."

"I thought I told you I wanted you to show the rest of us what to do about packing and unpacking the horses."

"Yes?"

"I meant it. You can wait for the others to return and then you can show us how to saddle our own horse. You have enough to do. I certainly think the rest of us are capable of helping."

Quatre lowered his head. He hadn't really thought Trowa had been serious. He was, after all, just a slave. Why would they want to help him?

"Do you understand me?" Trowa's voice was soft, but firm.

"Yes."

"Good. The others should be back in a few minutes. Show me what you are doing with that pack." Trowa walked up to stand next to Quatre.

With a silent sigh, Quatre began to show Trowa what he was doing. _Why is he trying to be nice? Why is he making me like him?_

When the others showed up a few minutes later, they were surprised to find Trowa standing in the clearing with all the tack for his horse in a pile in front of him. Tied to a stump to one side was the horse itself. The other horses and tack had been similarly arranged.

Trowa looked at the others. "Get by your horse. Quatre is going to give us a lesson in saddling the horse."

Sure enough, Quatre was standing next to his own horse. But unlike the others, his horse wasn't tied up.

Wufei looked at Trowa with a 'you've got to be kidding' look on his face, but walked over to wear his horse was patiently waiting.

Quatre smiled as he looked as his rather reluctant students. He'd make this as short and as simple as possible. Reaching down he picked up the bridle. "I won't insult you by describing what each piece of tack is. I'll just show you how it is placed on the horse." Turning so that they could all see what he was doing, Quatre gently opened the horse's mouth and slide the bit into place. A gentle tug had the rest of the bridle settled into place and he was buckling it on.

"You want me to put that in its mouth?" Duo demanded, watching Quatre.

"Yes."

Duo eyed his horse. It had a lot of very big teeth. "I don't think so."

Quatre walked over to Duo. "It's not that hard. He's been trained to accept the bit. All you do is place your hand like this," Quatre demonstrated where he wanted Duo to place his hand. "and give a light squeeze. He'll open his mouth and you can put the bit in. Then you take and place this behind his ears and that will make the rest of the bridle fall into position. You buckle it here and here. That's all there is to it."

Duo frowned. Quatre might make it sound easy, but…. "I don't think I can do this."

"Sure you can. He won't bite."

"Did you tell him that?"

Quatre laughed. "Just try."

"And if he bites me?"

"You can hit me for being wrong."

"Oh, gee, thanks." With a great deal of reluctance, Duo picked up the bridle and followed Quatre's example. Much to his surprise, he found it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

Quatre nodded. After checking make sure the others had managed on their own he returned to his own horse. "The next thing you do is place the saddle blanket on his back. Make sure there are no wrinkles in it. A wrinkle in the blanket could rub his back raw if it is left." Laying the blanket on the horses back, he smoothed it out carefully.

The others followed his example. Quatre moved about, checking to make sure everything was all right. After he was satisfied that everyone's blanket was smooth he picked up his saddle. "Take the saddle and lay the one stirrup across it so that it's out of the way. Then place the saddle on the horse and cinch it into place." With those words he proceeded to saddle the horse.

Trowa frowned as he lifted his own saddle. The way Quatre had picked it up he had thought it would be pretty light, but it wasn't.

He heard a choked off laugh and turned to look. Heero had taken his own saddle and proceeded to throw it right over the horse. 

"Not quite so hard," Quatre said quietly.

Heero grunted a reply as he went to retrieve his saddle.

Trowa cringed when he heard the string of curses coming from Wufei. Apparently he hadn't picked up hard enough. The saddle hadn't even made it onto the horse's back.

Even Duo was having difficulties. He would get the saddle onto the horse's back with no problem, but when he went to cinch it into place it would tilt and slidee back off.  He had carefully reset the blanket and saddle three times, but still had had no luck.

With a slight sigh, Trowa lifted his own saddle into place. Fortunately, it stayed where he put it. Moving carefully he took a hold of the cinch and slide it through the buckle. _So far, so good._ With another sigh, he stepped back. It had worked.

Quatre stepped up beside him. "Always check the cinch to make sure it's tight. Some horses with suck in a big breath of air when you're saddling them, so that the cinch winds up way too loose. Then, when you go to get on, the saddle will just slidee around." Reaching out, Quatre pulled on the cinch. Sure enough, he was able to tighten it up quite a bit.

Trowa nodded. "I'll remember that."

Quatre smiled slightly. "Good." Moving on, he checked the others to make sure they were doing all right.

It took them a while, but finally everyone had they're own horse geared up and ready to go.

Everyone was so busy with taking care of the last little things; they didn't notice that someone was watching them from the woods.

*****

 (1) I found this in a book on backpacking. Sounded like something Quatre would know.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Seventeen  

By SilverLady

Quatre sat on the bank of the small pond they had found near the campsite, watching the others as they played in the water. Though they had tried to coax him into joining them, he had remained firmly planted on the bank. Duo had even offered to teach him how to swim, but he had refused the offer. He wasn't about to admit to anyone exactly why he couldn't swim.

The past few days had been interesting, as the five young men had learned, not only about the others, but about themselves as well. Though Quatre had introduced many new things to the others, they had gamely tried each and every one. Even if there had been some grumbled comments and odd looks.

Quatre sighed. In two days they would reach Termal and Trowa would make his decision on whether or not they would continue the trip as they were going now or call for the servants to join them. Although the trip had brought back painful memories that Quatre would rather forget, he was still enjoying himself. He could pretend, at least for a little while, that he wasn't another man's property.

"Hey, Quatre," Duo shouted as he swam up to the shore. "You look awfully hot sitting there. Are you sure you wouldn't like to come in and get cooled off?"

"I'm fine right where I am," Quatre replied. "In fact, I was getting ready to head back to the campsite. I should probably get supper started."

Duo pouted a little. "You are supposed to relax, too. You don't have to do all the work, you know."

Quatre smiled. Duo certainly seemed to be enjoying himself. He was constantly looking at things, asking questions to the point where Heero would growl at him to be quiet. It was obvious to Quatre that much of what they saw and did was new to the braided boy. He felt sad that such a lively and energetic boy had never really been allowed to live the kind of life he deserved. Though he knew Heero was working hard at correcting that fact. He just hoped that Duo wasn't just a new toy for Heero to play with, to be discarded when something new came along. That would kill him, Quatre knew that for certain.

"Do you know how to cook?"

"No."

"Do you think Heero, Trowa or Wufei can cook?"

Duo frowned, knowing exactly where this was headed. "No."

"Then I guess that leaves me, doesn't it."

"It's still not right."

Quatre rose to his feet. "I'll call you when it's ready."

"All right." Duo turned and looked around for Heero. A mischievous look crossed his face when he spotted Heero on the other side of the pond, his back to him. Without a sound, Duo slipped through the water, intent on catching Heero by surprise.

As Quatre turned to leave, he heard Heero, whose growled words carried across the water. "Duo. Even think about dunking me and I'll make you regret it."

Quatre giggled softly when he heard Duo's reply. "Ah, Heero. You're no fun."

*****

Duo was floating lazily on his back, staring up at the sky through the covering of leaves, when he heard the sounds of someone coming towards the pond. The others had already left the water and wandered off in different directions to explore. One of them was probably coming to tell him it was time to get out.

Duo sighed. He enjoyed the water and it was nice to be able to swim when he wanted to. There were times when he really was torn between swimming and eating. Now was one of those times.

"Duo!" Quatre's voice carried across the water. "It's…."

A sudden cry and the sound of a body hitting the water alerted Duo that something had happened to Quatre. Flipping over, he looked towards the bank. It only took him a moment to spot Quatre, who must have slipped on the slick bank and fallen into the pond. Without a moment's hesitation, Duo was swimming towards the distraught boy.

It only took him a minute to reach Quatre. Reaching out, he tried to grasp the boy, but Quatre was thrashing about too much for him to accomplish it.

"Quatre, calm down. I'm here. I'll help. You have to relax. It's all right."

Quatre seemed to be oblivious as he struggled. Finally Duo managed to get a grip on the boy, but that did nothing to calm him down. "Nooo!!!" Quatre howled, the cry ending in a choking cough as he swallowed a large amount of water.

Duo struggled to keep both his and Quatre's heads above water. He knew that if he didn't get Quatre calmed down and out of the water soon, they were both going to wind up drowning. "Quatre," he snapped, trying to make the boy listen. "You've got to stop struggling so much. You're only making it worse."

"No!" Quatre cried, struggling with memories that wouldn't let him hear what Duo was saying. "Please, no!"

Just when Duo felt his grip on the boy begin to slip, there was a loud splash behind him. Suddenly Heero was beside him, helping him to keep Quatre from slipping beneath the water's surface. 

But even Heero's strong, sure grip did nothing to ease Quatre's panic. He continued to struggle, against the water and the two trying to help.

Duo could not believe how panic stricken Quatre had become. His inexperience in the water still shouldn't have caused him to react so badly to falling in. There was obviously more to Quatre's inability to swim then he had let on.

Heero grunted as a flailing foot landed dangerously near a part of his anatomy he'd rather not have injured. It was becoming apparent that Quatre was not going to respond to Duo's voice. It was time for more drastic actions. Shifting his grip, Heero pressed two fingers into the nape of Quatre's neck.

Duo was a little surprised when Quatre suddenly quit struggling. "What?"

"You head back to shore," Heero told him calmly. "I'll follow with him. You can pull him out."

Duo managed to nodded before striking out for shore. Though Quatre had fallen in close to shore, his struggles had dragged them nearly to the middle of the pond. Suddenly, it seemed like a long way back.

Five minutes later they had Quatre on shore. By that time Wufei and Trowa had arrived, Trowa bringing along several blankets. 

Trowa had just started to wrap Quatre up in one of the blankets when the boy suddenly shot straight up. "Noooo!" he cried, struggling against the enveloping blanket. 

"Quatre!" Trowa called, trying to get through to the still panic stricken blonde. "It's all right. You're safe. Duo and Heero got you out of the water."

Quatre gasped, bending over as a hard racking cough shook his slight frame. Trowa held him until the spasm passed, making note of the tears that were streaming down Quatre's face. 

Slowly Quatre sank to his knees, struggling to regain his breath and to force back the memories. He moaned and buried his face in his hands as his body began to tremble uncontrollably. 

Trowa felt the tremors that shook Quatre's body and wrapped the blanket more tightly around the small blonde. "It's all right," he spoke in a soft voice, trying to sooth the frightened boy. "You're safe now."

Although Quatre's body continued to tremble violently, Trowa could tell that the boy was begin to relax.

Trowa damn near jumped out of his skin when a cold, wet hand was laid on his shoulder. He looked up to find Heero watching him. "If you'll help Duo, I'll carry him back to camp. We need to get him into some warm, dry clothes."

"You as well," Trowa commented, noting Heero's decidedly damp look.

Heero shrugged. "You don't stop to strip when there's trouble." 

"Thank god for small favors," Wufei mumbled under his breath.

Heero glared at the other boy, but didn't reply.

Trowa shook his head at the exchange. With a sigh of reluctance, he relinquished Quatre to Heero. He knew there was no way he was going to be able to carry the blonde boy back to camp, even as light as he was. His leg simply wouldn't let him.

Duo managed a weak smile as Trowa and Wufei helped him to stand. Although he really didn't want to admit it, his knees felt as if they'd been turned to water. If it wasn't for the two others he figured he'd probably wind up kissing the ground.

"Trowa," he said softly as they headed back to camp.

Trowa looked at Duo. "Yes?"

"I think you need to get him to talk. There was a lot more to his reaction than could be explained by him not being able to swim. He was really scared."

Trowa nodded. He agreed with Duo's assessment. He would talk to the other boy and find out just exactly what the problem was.

*****

Quatre sighed and curled up into a tighter ball. He could sense that someone was near and he really didn't want to deal with anyone just yet. He had to get himself back under control first.

"Quatre?" Trowa's voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

_If I lay really still, maybe he'll think I'm still asleep and leave._

Luck, however, wasn't on his side. "Quatre, I know you're awake. Please open your eyes and look at me."

Trowa had to fight back a smile as a scared blue eye peeked out from the blankets Quatre was curled up in. "I wanted to be sure you were all right."

"I'm fine now. You didn't need to trouble yourself." Quatre's voice was muffled and distant, from more than just the blanket.

"Sometimes talking helps."

Quatre blinked. "Talking?"

"About why you were so scared."

"I fell in the water. I don't know how to swim and I fell in. I thought I was going to die."

"Quatre, why don't you know how to swim?"

Quatre was quiet for a minute. "I grew up in the desert. There's not much water and so not much need to know…."

"There's more to it than that," Trowa interrupted. Quatre's reason was perfectly plausible and yet… Trowa knew it wasn't the whole truth. "Even I know there are oasises in the desert with water. And you did say that you spent some time in the hills. Don't tell me you never came across water deep enough to swim in."

Quatre sighed and turned his head away. Something told him that Trowa would persist in this. "It's nothing."

"Please, tell me. 

Quatre closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to bring the memories to the front of his mind. He had fought with them for so long. "It's nothing really. Just something that happened a long time ago."

Trowa heard the pain in Quatre's voice. It was pretty apparent that it was something. Something that Quatre had never discussed with anyone. "You're afraid of the water and you never said anything to anyone. You'll never get past it if you don't talk about it."

Quatre rolled over and glared angrily at Trowa. "What do you care about how I feel?! I'm just your slave, nothing else."

Trowa reared back at the outburst. Although he sort of expected it, a part of him was hurt by the angry words. "Believe me or not, I do care. I want to help you."

"Then go away and leave me alone. I don't like the water. Big deal. There are lots of people who don't know how to swim and don't care to learn. Why are you making such a big deal about it?"

"Because there is another reason for your fear and it's eating away at you."

Quatre pulled himself into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around his knees. Burying his face in the hollow between his body and his legs, he struggled to hold back the tears that had welled up in his eyes. "It was my fault," he choked out brokenly.

"What was?" Trowa asked gently.

"My mother. It was my fault she died." Quatre looked up at Trowa, his eyes full of an old, haunting pain. "I lied. I do know how to swim. My mother taught me when I was little. She always loved the water and would go swimming any chance she got. My dad always teased her about it, asking if she wasn't a misplaced fish or something. She took me with her all the time, so I learned very early how to swim. I don't remember if I learned to walk, ride or swim first. I just always seemed to have done them." Quatre closed his eyes as the bittersweet feelings washed over him. He had been so hurt by the bad memory that he'd blocked out all the good ones.

Trowa reached out and laid a gentle hand on Quatre's shoulder, silently urging him to continue. 

A shudder ran through Quatre's slight form. "One day we came across this small river. It was pretty swollen from the rains that had fallen higher in the mountains, but to a six year old they didn't seem that bad. I wanted to swim in it. It had been several weeks since we'd come across enough water to enjoy. My mother told me no, that it was too dangerous for a little boy. I didn't believe her though and when I thought everyone was asleep I went back.

"She must have heard me or known what I was going to do. I had barely gotten in the water when I realized that she had been right. The current was much stronger than I thought. She didn't hesitate to jump in and save me. She had just gotten me up on a rock near the shore when the current dragged her away. I just watched as she disappeared under the water. I was so numb I couldn't even cry. 

"After a while I got back on shore and ran back to the camp. By that time my father had discovered that Mother was missing and had gotten a group of men to go look for her. He knew how much she loved the water and figured she had decided to go for a swim after I was asleep, so that I wouldn't beg to go with her." Quatre choked back a sob as he remembered the horrible night and the following morning.

"They found her body a little ways down stream." Quatre rocked his body as the sobs welled up in his throat. "She wasn't strong enough to fight the current. It was my fault and I never told anyone. They never knew that she had died saving me. I couldn't face my father with that information." Quatre broke down then, sobbing with a thousand tears he'd never shed.

Trowa gathered the sobbing boy into his arms. What a horrible burden for a small child to carry. "Shhh, little one."

"Don't tell me it will be all right," Quatre choked out. "It will never be all right. I killed my mother. I could never go near the water again. I went from loving to swim to hating it. I can't stand to be in water any deeper than my knees anymore. No one knew why I suddenly stopped going to the water. They though it was the trauma of losing my mother it such a manner. They would have hated me if they had known the real reason."

Trowa said nothing, just continued to hold the blonde until he finally cried himself to sleep. 

_Oh, little one. I wish there was something I could do to help. You're right though. The guilt never goes away, no matter what logic tells you._

*****

Trowa wasn't certain how long he held the sleeping boy before Heero came in to check on them. 

"Is everything all right?" Heero asked softly.

Trowa looked up at him. "I don't know. I did find out why he won't go near the water, but I doubt if there is really anything we can do to make it better."

Heero nodded slightly. He knew Trowa would tell the others if he felt it was necessary. 

Trowa sighed, grateful for Heero's silence. "How is Duo?"

"He's fine. He swallowed a bit more water than he would have liked, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. I'll keep a watch him tonight though, just to make sure."

Trowa nodded. "I think it might be a good idea to just stay here tomorrow and give them both time to recover. We're not on any real schedule."

"Sound good to me." He was silent for a minute. "Do you want anything to eat or drink? I've got some water heating."

Trowa arched an eyebrow at that bit of information.

Heero glared back. "It's not that hard. Especially since he already had the fire going."

"I think some hot tea would be a good idea. If you think between the three of you, you can handle it."

Heero snorted. "I think we can manage. Somehow." With that he turned and headed outside.

Trowa smiled faintly. There were times when Heero still managed to surprise him.

*****

Duo looked up from his place in front of the fire when Heero approached. "Is he okay?"

"He was sleeping. Trowa says he should be fine."

"Physically."

Heero nodded. "Trowa wants us to attempt to make some tea."

Duo eyed the fire. "We might be able to manage that. We did manage to heat the water without too much problem."

Wufei, who had just walked up, snorted his opinion of the statement. "It's a damn good thing we didn't put the stupid fire out."

Duo sighed. "Yeah."

Heero shook his head. It was a bit disconcerting to realize just how out of his element he was out here. "We're going to stay here tomorrow instead of moving on. It will give Quatre a chance to get himself sorted out."

Duo nodded. He thought that sounded like a good idea. His chest still ached from the coughing spasm that had hit him earlier.

Wufei groaned but didn't argue, not that it would have done him any good.

Heero smirked as he headed for the pack that he hoped had the tea in it. Things were definitely beginning to become interesting around here.


	18. Chapter Eighteen A

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Eighteen

By SilverLady

Trowa sat staring at the mug that Heero had brought him. It was supposed to be tea, but Trowa feared his life might just be forfeit if he actually drank the brew. For one thing, there were enough things floating in it to rest a spoon on. For another, what liquid he could see was a strange color. He'd never seen tea in quite that shade of green before.

He looked over at the sleeping blonde. "I think we're in trouble."

Quatre murmured something in his sleep and rolled onto his side.

Trowa smiled slightly. "Sleep might me the safest idea, little one."

*****

The morning air was cool and there were still patches of mist hugging the ground. The sun was still low in the sky and the clearing was still shadowed in large patches of dark. What light did break through the trees light up the mist and made it seem to dance.

Now and then the call of a bird would rent the air, but otherwise little stirred.  Once, in the distance, the sound of a branch crashing down to the ground could be heard, probably jarred loose by a squirrel. 

None of this gentle morning beauty registered on the long-haired boy.  Duo sat at the makeshift table, staring at the items he'd gotten together. He was so intent on trying to figure out what to do with them he wasn't paying any attention to what was going on around him

Wufei ducked behind a tree, all the time watching the boy sitting at the table. It was a rare sight indeed, to see Duo not only quiet but still as well. There were some opportunities that just couldn't be missed. Moving silently, Wufei slipped from spot to spot, ducking behind any cover he could use. He'd been run over, tripped up and had the crap scared out of him by the wild child too many times not to want a bit of revenge.

After several minutes, Wufei reached what he considered optimum pouncing range. Pausing a moment to gather himself, he let a small smirk cross his face. Then he attacked.

"HEY, MAWELL!!! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" he shouted as he jumped up behind the boy.

Duo let out what could only be termed as a shriek as he jumped a good two feet in the air. A part of Wufei had to admire the amazing agility of the boy as he not only did a complete one eighty in mid air, but also managed to not knock over the table or the chair.

 "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!!" Duo shouted, his hand pressed against his chest. His heart was racing so damn fast he thought it was going to leap right out of his chest.

Wufei was practically rolling on the ground, he was laughing so hard. The look on Duo's face had been priceless. 

Just then there was a crashing sound as Heero burst out of the tent. He heard the shout and had come to see what was wrong.

Wufei took one look at Heero and just laughed that much harder. Heero had been in such a hurry he'd grabbed the first thing he could lay his hands on to wear. The style of the shirt wasn't what Wufei found so funny. It was the fact that it was so short that it barely covered the essentials. That and the fact that is was of a soft pink color.

"Oh…" Wufei gasped. "Heero….that color gasp is you gasp but please cough, gasp don't lift your hands." With that he dissolved into fresh peals of laughter.

Heero glared at the convulsing boy as he made his way over to Duo. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Just great," He, too, glared at the other boy. "Damn near had a heart attack, but I'm fine." He looked over at Heero and noticed the shirt he was wearing. "Though he is right about the color."

Heero turned his glare on Duo. "I thought something was wrong. I grabbed the first thing I could."

Duo studied the shirt. Not only was it very short, the sleeves barely hit mid-forearm on him and just about every seam was threatening to rip apart. "I think you'd best go get something of yours on. I'd say by the size that is probably Quatre's."

Heero glance down and began to blush. Gathering as much dignity as he could, he turned and walked back to the tent. 

Duo glanced over at Wufei, who was apparently going to lie there for a while. "It's not that funny," he muttered.

Wufei wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked back. "Gotcha," he said, grinning stupidly.

The look on Duo's face only set him off again. "Oh, I think I'm going to wet myself," he gasped, throwing himself back on the ground. "That was perfect."

Duo only shook his head as he turned back to the items he'd gathered. "Man is weird."


	19. Chapter Eighteen B

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Eighteen B

By SilverLady

Quatre crinkled up his nose and buried his head deeper into the pillow. A very odd smell had finally penetrated his sleep-fogged mind. He wasn't sure exactly what it was and he really didn't think he wanted to find out.

Finally, hunger and an urgent call of nature served to drag Quatre from his cocoon. He rolled reluctantly over and found Trowa sitting near his bed, eyeing the plate he held with a wary eye.

Trowa looked up at the sound of movement from the bed. "Good morning," he said softly.

Quatre watched him without replying.

Trowa looked back down at the plate, which held Heero's and Duo's version of breakfast. "I hope you're feeling better this morning. I'm afraid the rest of us might be joining you." With a sigh he placed the plate on the ground behind him. "Food poisoning is becoming a distinct possibility."

Quatre blinked as he sat up. "Why?" he whispered.

"Let's just say neither Heero nor Duo will ever be hired as a cook."

Quatre sighed. It sounded as if he'd lain in bed long enough. "I'll take care of it," he murmured as he went to walk past Trowa.

Trowa reached out and grabbed Quatre's arm. "That isn't necessary. We'll muddle through. You need to rest."

Quatre pulled his arm free. "I am fine. Let me take care of some personal needs and then I will get you something to eat."

"You had a bad experience. It would be better if you took the day and rested."

"I don't know what you mean. If you would excuse me, Master, I have things to do. I don't have time to be lying around. That is what you bought me for, is it?"

Trowa winced at the bitterness in the other boy's voice, but made no more move to stop him as he left the tent.

*****

Duo looked up as Quatre approached. "Feeling better?"

"Much." Quatre schooled his face to remain blank. "I thought you might need some help."

Duo glanced back at the mess spread across the table. "That bad, huh?"

"I believe food poisoning was mentioned."

Duo sighed. "Eating I'm good at. Cooking is another story entirely."

"I do have a book with recipes in it."

"If it don't blow up in the end, Heero won't read it. And Wufei has tried three times this morning to make me piss my pants. Damn near succeeded the first time."

Quatre sighed. "Then how about if you help me."

"Works."

"First thing, we need to clean up."

"That I can do."

Quatre began picking up the table, hoping that they still had enough supplies to last until they reached Termal. "I'm surprised Heero has never tried to teach you how to read."

"He has. I'm not very good at it and he's not all that patient." Duo shrugged. "Most of the time it's not a problem. It's just the way things are."

Quatre looked at Duo. Again he wondered just how civilized this place really was.

"Don't you want to learn?"

"It's not at the top of my list of things to do. It would be nice, but it's no big deal."

"What is at the top?"

Duo looked around. "Maybe it should be learning to cook."

Quatre smiled. "Maybe."

Duo laughed as he began to pick up the mess he'd made that morning. He was glad that Quatre seemed to be all right.

Fortunately, the rest of that day, and the next two days, passed peacefully. 

*****

Quatre stood in the center of the clearing, looking around to make sure that nothing had been left behind. He really didn't want to have to come back for anything, as they'd had to do the day before.

They would be arriving in Termal late that afternoon. Quatre tried not to think about what that meant. He kept telling himself that it didn't matter what Trowa decided. He was simply a slave doing what he was told, nothing more.

But deep down inside, it did matter. For the past few days he'd been able to pretend that he wasn't someone else's property. That he was somebody.  Somebody important.

If Trowa insisted on calling up the other servants, he would just another on of the slaves following Lord Trowa.

Turning, he walked over to where the others were waiting. Duo's horse was dancing around in a nervous fashion and that made Quatre frown slightly. What was bothering the big black horse? He was usually rather quiet.

"Got everything?" Duo asked.

Quatre nodded. "Yes."

"Good. I think this guy is getting a bit antsy this morning."

Quatre looked over at the horse. Something was definitely wrong. "Duo, …."

But before Quatre could finish the sentence, Duo had put his foot in the stirrup and mounted the horse. A wild scream rent the air and before anyone had realized what was happening, the horse had bolted off down the path at a dead run.

Quatre didn't think, he reacted. Lunging forward he flung himself on his own horse and sent it after the runaway black. He knew that Duo's inexperience riding could get him killed if he didn't catch him fast.

Leaning lower over his horse's neck, he urged it onward, hoping that his experience and control would allow his horse to catch up with the other. 

After another minute he caught sight of the black ahead of him. Fear and panic were working to Quatre's advantage as the black was wearing himself down rapidly. If Duo could hold on for just a few more minutes, Quatre was confident that he could catch them.

With a deft touch of the reins, Quatre guided his horse next to the runaway. He tried to get Duo's attention, but the boy was oblivious. He had his arms wrapped around the horse's neck and his head buried in its mane. It was pretty obvious that it was taking all of his concentration to simply remain on the horse's back.

Quatre realized that it would be up to him to bring the black under control. He would have to get a hold of the reins and force the horse to stop. It was a tricky maneuver to try, especially at a dead run, but it was the only thing he could do.

With a quick prayer to the Great One, he leaned out of his saddle, trying to grab something on the other horse.

 It took several tries, but he finally managed to snag the reins that hung slack over the black's neck. Using his weight and the weight of the horse he was riding, he finally managed to bring the black to a halt.

Slideing from his horse's back, Quatre reached up and tried to get Duo to release his death grip. It took several tries, but finally he got the boy to let go.

Duo all but fell off the horse into Quatre's arms. Wrapping his arms around Quatre's neck he simply clung, shaking so hard Quatre was sure he was going to shake himself apart.

Rubbing his hands up and down the boy's back, Quatre murmured soft words of reassurance. He could just imagine how terrified the longhaired boy must have been.

After a few minutes, Quatre could feel his shoulder getting damp and realized that Duo was silently crying. Moving slowly, he guided Duo over to a fallen log and slowly sat them both down.

After another few minutes he heard the thud of approaching hoof beats. Looking up, he saw Trowa and Heero ride into the clearing. 

He honestly didn't think the horse had stopped before Heero had flung himself off and was across the clearing. Sinking to his knees next to the two boys, he reached for Duo.

A whispered word from Heero was all it took for Duo to release his hold on Quatre and fling himself into Heero's tight embrace. 

Holding the boy as if he'd never let him go, Heero began running his hands up and down the other boy's body, as if to confirm to himself that Duo was alright. 

Quatre slide off the log and moved away from the two. He knew that Heero's presence and reassurance was what Duo needed right now.

Looking around, he noticed that Trowa had moved over to where the horses were standing. The black's sides were heaving as he pulled in great breaths of air, his coat covered with a sheen of sweat.

"What happened?" Trowa asked.

Quatre frowned as he moved over to the horse. He hadn't seen or heard anything that would make the horse bolt. In fact, he'd chosen the horse for its calm personality. It should take a lot to make him bolt. Moving slowly, he slide his hand under the saddle blanket. After a moment he found the source of the horse's unusual behavior.

Trowa winced at the size of the burr Quatre pulled from under the horse's saddle blanket. "No wonder he bolted. That must have been very painful."

Quatre nodded. "I would have thought Duo would have been more careful."

Trowa frowned. "I don't think a burr that big would have gone unnoticed."

Quatre looked at Trowa. "You don't think somebody else put it there?"

Trowa shrugged. "No. I just don't think he would have missed something that big."

"If he was in a hurry he might not have been paying attention. I can't see anyone deliberately trying to hurt the horse."

Trowa looked at Quatre, but said nothing. Though he didn't believe anyone would want to hurt Duo, he still didn't think Duo would be that careless.

"I'll ride back and get Wufei and the pack horses. You can stay here while Heero gets Duo calmed down." Without waiting for an answer, Trowa mounted his horse and headed back the way they'd come.

Quatre stood quietly, looking down at the burr he held in his hand. _Why would anyone want to hurt Duo?_ With a sigh he flung the burr into the woods and proceeded to thoroughly check the horse to make sure there was no permanent injury done.

Heero wrapped his arms more tightly around the shaking body he held. "It's all right," he murmured. "You're safe."

Heero had thought his heart would stop when he'd seen the black bolt off down the trail with Duo clinging to his back. He'd never felt so scared in his entire life. The thought that something serious might happen before he could catch them had caused his heart to nearly stop. 

He'd never mounted a horse that fast but, as fast as he'd been, Quatre had been even faster. He honestly hadn't even seen the blonde move. One minute he'd been standing there, the next he was on his horse and already after Duo.

Burying his face in the soft hair, Heero breathed in the essence that was Duo. He had not really thought that much about just what the boy meant to him, but now, after nearly losing him twice in just a few days, he knew that this boy held the key to his heart. There was no more need to pretend. He was never letting him go.

"You're mine," he whispered into Duo's hair. "Now and forever." And as soon as he could he was going to make it permanent, laws be damned.

This silent vow made, Heero held Duo that much closer. 

Suddenly feeling someone watching them, he looked up to find Quatre staring at them. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the blonde, who suddenly turned red and looked away. 

He was going to find out who or what had made the horse bolt and then there was going to be hell to pay.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Nineteen

By SilverLady

It was two hours before Heero could calm Duo down enough to get him to agree to move on. But Duo refused to ride alone, so Heero allowed him to ride tandem with him.

Quatre frowned as he watched the two of them. He couldn't figure out how in the world that burr had gotten under Duo's saddle blanket. It didn't seem possible for Duo to have missed it and he hadn't seen any plants with burrs on it near the campsite. That meant that it had to have been deliberately put there_. But who would do such a thing? Duo could have easily been killed if he had fallen from the runaway horse. I don't believe anyone here would want to deliberately hurt Duo._

He glanced over at Wufei. Although the two seemed to derive a great deal of fun out of teasing each other, he didn't think Wufei was petty enough to try such a stunt. To try and deliberately hurt someone in such an underhanded manner would be, in Quatre's opinion, beneath Wufei's sense of honor and justice, the code by which the foreign boy lived. And he was pretty sure Wufei knew what the outcome of such a nasty trick would be. 

Heero, he also crossed off his mental list. It was obvious to anyone who looked how deeply in love with his long-haired slave he was. Quatre believed that Heero would cut out his own heart before harming Duo in any way. He really felt sorry for whoever had done it. He had a feeling that when Heero got done with him, he's wished he'd never even seen Duo, let alone tried to hurt him. 

Now Trowa, he wasn't sure about. He'd certainly had the opportunity to place the burr. But then, so did everyone else. Was it possible that Trowa was not happy with the attention Heero now paid Duo? He had heard that Heero and Trowa had been very close for a very long time. _Maybe Trowa was hoping to make the friendship into something more. But now Heero's interested in Duo and it's obvious that no one else has any chance with him._

Then there was always the possibility that it had been Duo himself that had put the burr there. Maybe he hadn't realized just how badly the horse would react. Maybe he was trying to scare Heero into finally admitting out loud his feelings.  It seemed like a silly idea, but then it was hard to say just how Duo's mind worked. 

Or perhaps Trowa's cousin had instigated the incident. Quatre had heard that he had not been happy with Duo's reaction to his attack on Quatre himself. Quatre knew that Michal had wanted Duo severely punished for his attack and had not been happy when that had not happened. Maybe he was trying to get Duo back for it now. 

And a final scenario crossed Quatre's thoughts. Maybe it hadn't been Duo that had been the target. Maybe the burr and accident had been meant for one of the others or even Quatre himself. He knew that Michal was just as angry at Heero as he had been with Duo. And Quatre knew there was no love lost between the two cousins. _And he's probably not very happy with me either. Not only did I get away, with Duo and Heero's help, but I also told his father what had happened. The loss of face he must have suffered would not please him at all. _

Quatre frowned again. He had grown fond of Duo himself and was determined to figure out how would try and hurt him and why. Then he would cheerfully hand that person over to Heero to take care of.

*****

It was late afternoon before they reached Termal. Though not a large as the capitol, Termal was a thriving trading city that was always bustling with the sights and sounds of trading.

Fortunately, Trowa's name was recognized at the first inn they stopped at and they had no difficult in securing rooms for the time they planned on staying.

Seeing how badly shaken Duo was, Trowa suggested that they retire for the night and go out the next day to explore the city and resupply.

*****

Trowa looked up at the knock on his door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Heero's voice came through the door. "And Wufei. We need to talk."

Trowa had been expecting Heero, but he was a little surprised that Wufei had come as well. "Come on in."

The door opened and Heero and Wufei stepped into the room. Both men had serious expressions on their faces.

"How's Duo?" Trowa asked as Heero sat down.

"Sleeping. I left Quatre with him."

"Is that a good idea?" Wufei asked, also taking a seat.

Heero shrugged. "Didn't have much of a choice. I don't want Duo left alone tonight. He won't try anything, though. Not with anybody else around."

Trowa frowned. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with leaving Quatre with Duo? And who wouldn't try anything?"

"That burr was put there deliberately." Heero's voice was flat and cold.

"You think Quatre did it."

"He found it without any trouble."

"He also has a lot of experience with horses. He probably knew what was wrong by how the horse reacted."

"He says he knows horse. But how do we know if he's lying or not? You know how he feels about his situation."

"But why take it out on Duo? Why not me?"

"He had plenty of opportunity to place that burr." Wufei pointed out.

"So did the rest of us."

Wufei glanced at Heero. "I told you he wouldn't listen to us."

Trowa looked at the two of them. "You don't have any real evidence that Quatre tried to hurt Duo, just a few things that could be pinned just as easily on any one of us. Besides, Quatre seems to trust Duo more than any of us. Why would he hurt the one person he actually seems to like?" There was a hint of sadness in the last statement. Trowa was beginning to think that he would never gain the blonde boy's trust.

"Which is the only reason why I haven't wrung his neck," Heero informed him coldly. "But if I find out it was Quatre, he's mine."

Trowa shook his head. "If Quatre was behind the attack, I will deal with him."

Just then there was another knock on the door. Trowa frowned. "Who's there?"

"It is me, Master," Quatre's soft voice answered. "I brought you something to eat."

"Come in."

Heero's eyebrow arched as Quatre came in carrying a tray with a selection of sandwiches and three mugs of some kind of drink.

Quatre placed the tray on the table. "I saw Heero and Wufei come in and I thought perhaps you would like some snacks, Master."

Trowa frowned at the boy's use of the word master, but said nothing. 

"You're supposed to be watching Duo," Heero said in a cold voice.

Quatre blinked at him. "He was sleeping when I left. I was going right back." He was already backing towards the door.

"Thank you, Quatre, for the snacks. But you didn't have to go through the trouble." Trowa's voice was calm.

Quatre nodded slightly. "It was no trouble, Master. I knew you hadn't had a chance to get supper yet."

"You had best be getting back to Duo."

"Yes, Master." Quatre bowed slightly and then left.

Wufei glanced at the sandwiches and drink. "I'm not hungry," he announced, though he had not eaten and his stomach was beginning to complain.

Trowa glanced at Heero, who shook his head. Trowa could tell that neither of the men trusted Quatre enough to eat the food that he'd brought, especially since it hadn't been asked for. Even he wondered how long Quatre had been standing there and how much he had heard. _Could they be right?_

"So, do we continue the trip as we have been, do we send for the others, or do we go back?"

"I don't think we should involve anyone else," Heero answered. "But if we go back, we may never find out what happened."

Wufei nodded his agreement. "Justice must be served. It won't be if we don't find out who tried to hurt Duo. We just keep a very close eye on Quatre. If he is the guilty party, eventually he will reveal himself."

"Then that's what we will do. "

Heero looked at the other two. "And I would recommend that we try and keep Quatre in sight at all times. I don't want him trying anything else against Duo."

The other two nodded their agreement. Between the three of them, they felt they could keep a close eye on Quatre.

After a few minutes planning what they would do the next day, Heero and Wufei left.

Trowa sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Since the blonde haired slave had entered his life, nothing had gone the way he intended. He was beginning to wonder if buying the boy had been such a good idea after all.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty

By SilverLady

Duo moaned and buried his head deeper into the pillow as the light coming in the window hit him full in the face. He didn't remember very much of what had transpired yesterday and was glad. He had a feeling he'd probably made a fool of himself, acting like a scared girl.

A soft chuckle from across the room made him roll over. He was surprised to see Heero sitting in a chair near the doorway. "What ya doing way over there?" Duo whispered.

"Watching you."

"You could watch me from over here."

"I didn't want any unexpected guests last night."

Duo frowned a little. "Why? What kind of guests?"

Heero rose to his feet and walked slowly across the room. "Someone tried to kill you yesterday. I wasn't taking any chances on them trying again."

Duo shook his head, a perplexed look crossing his face. "Something just scared the horse and he bolted. No big deal."

Heero looked as his love for a moment. "No. There was a burr under the saddle. The pain made the horse run. You could have been killed if you'd fallen off."

Duo stared at him for another moment, disbelief very evident on his face. Suddenly he moaned and curled up into a small ball.

Heero was instantly in the bed and gathering the long haired boy to him. He could feel the tremors that were shaking Duo's body. "It's all right," he soothed. "I won't let anyone take you from me."

"Who?" Duo moaned. "Who would want to kill me?

Heero had decided earlier not to directly tell Duo his and Wufei's suspicions. He knew that Duo genuinely liked the blond slave and wouldn't believe anything bad about him. Yet. "I don't know. There was no real proof as to who could have planted that burr." Heero was quiet for a minute. "I want you to be careful. Don't be alone with anyone but me. Understood?"

Duo looked up and him. "Why? You don't think one of the others did it. That's ridiculous."

"I won't take any chances of loosing you." Heero placed a hand on either side of Duo's face. "I love you. I would die if something were to happen to you."

Duo searched Heero's face and found the truth in those fiercely spoken words. Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized he had finally found the haven he'd always dreamed of. The haven promised in Heero's deep blue eyes.

Slowly he reached up and ran his hand across Heero's cheek. "I love you, too. With all my heart." The tears in his eyes spilled over and ran down his checks.

Heero brushed the tears away with his fingertips. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Duo sniffled and smiled. "I know. It's just that… I'm happy. I never thought anyone would love me. I'm just a useless whore and…."

Heero placed a hand across Duo's mouth, silencing him. "Don't," he hissed. "Don't ever talk about yourself like that again. You are not useless, not to me. And you will never have to sleep with anyone you don't want to, not ever again. Understand?"

"But Heero.." Duo mumbled around the hand.

Heero glared fiercely at him. "Understand?"

Duo slowly nodded. A devilish glint lit his eyes as he looked at Heero. Suddenly, he stuck his tongue out and ran it across Heero's hand.

Heero shuddered. "Good." Heero removed his hand and stood up. "You need to get dressed. We're going shopping."

"All of us?"

"Yes."

Duo pouted. "I'd rather stay here and enjoy the privacy."

Heero smirked, but was already walking towards the door. He knew if he stayed, Duo would get his way. _And a whole lot more._

"I'll meet you downstairs." Heero turned and looked back at Duo. "The quicker you get moving the sooner we can get back."

"Promise?"

Heero smirked. "I guarantee it." With that he turned and left.

*****

Fifteen minutes later Duo joined the others downstairs. Bounding happily up, he stopped before Heero. "Ready," he announced, sounding much more like himself.

Heero looked Duo over and began to shake his head. The outfit Duo was wearing was typical clothing for slaves and was similar to the one Quatre was wearing. The specific coloring and embroidered pattern told everyone that he was a slave. 

Duo frowned as Heero continued to shake his head. "What?" He looked down at himself. "My fly open?"

Heero looked over at Trowa. "We'll be right back." With that, he grabbed Duo and hauled him up the stairs.

Wufei sighed. "We might as well get comfortable. You know we'll be lucky if they come back down in the next hour.

Trowa looked over at Wufei but said nothing. He knew there was really no need for him to make a comment.

*****

Much to both Trowa and Wufei's surprise, Duo and Heero returned in less than five minutes.

As shocking as the two boys quick return was the outfit Duo now wore. It consisted of a pair of dark blue, almost black pants made of soft leather that hugged every curve of Duo's legs and a soft cream-colored shirt that clung lovingly to the body it covered. There was absolutely nothing on him that indicated his position as Heero's slave

"Now we're ready," Heero announced as he headed for the door.

Wufei shrugged and followed.

Trowa glanced over at Quatre. "Stay with me at all times. Understand?"

Quatre nodded. "Yes, master."

"Good."

Turning he headed out into the street, certain that Quatre would follow dutifully along. He had noticed that as soon as they had gotten to town, Quatre had reverted to calling him master, but for some reason he didn't feel inclined to correct it right now. He was still torn by uncertainty in the face of Heero and Wufei's accusations. He didn't want to think the little blonde was capable of such an act, and yet. He really didn't know him all that well. 

The thoughts and doubts chased merrily around in his head with no sign of letting up. Hopefully the problem would soon resolve itself.

As Trowa stepped out into the street he was surprised at the number of people. There hadn't been nearly this many the day before. "What's going on?"

"Don't know." Heero replied, watching the crowd.

A passing stranger had heard the question and stopped to answer. "It's the Feast of Treisama, one of the biggest feast days in the city. You'll want to watch your purses today. They'll be a lot of pickpockets out hoping to lighten your load." Flipping his long blonde hair over his shoulder, the man nodded and head of down the street, waving to pretty dark haired girl that had just come out of a shop.

Heero looked at Duo. "You stick with me. No wandering off."

Duo made a face at him. "What are you going to do? Put me on a leash?"

Heero paused for a moment, then his hand suddenly shot out and grabbed Duo's braid. "You already have one."

Duo frowned. "Woof, woof. What you want me to do, get down on all fours?"

Heero leaned in and leered at him. "Later."

The others laughed as Duo turned bright red. He knew he'd walked right into that one. 

Suddenly he squawked as Heero, maintaining his iron grip on the long hank of hair, started down the street. "Hey," Duo protested, being dragged along. "That hurts. Dammit Yuy, let go of my hair. It's not a damn leash, contrary to what you say. Ow!"

The others simply followed along, letting Duo's voice tell them where they were when the crowd got to thick to see them.

*****

The sun was beginning to set as Duo stood outside one of the small stalls, looking at the collection of knives on display. He was absently rubbing his hand on the back of his head, which still stung from Heero dragging him around earlier. 

He'd been staring at the knives for the past five minutes. Slaves weren't supposed to have or even touch dangerous items, such as these knives, even though many slaves were trained bodyguards. His first master had had a thing for knives and had taught Duo a lot about them, including how to know a fine one from one that was just pretty to look at.

Suddenly he remembered the way he was dressed. As far as the man in the shop was concerned he was just another buyer. Looking around to make sure no one was going to jump out and yell "Slave!" he reached over to pick up one of the knives. 

Instantly the owner of the shop materialized in front of him. "That is a very fine and beautiful knife, is it not?"

Duo balanced the blade in his hand. "A bit unbalanced."

"Look at the craftsmanship. The detail in the carving and the way the jewels highlight it." 

It was obvious to Duo that this man really wanted to sell this fancy, and probably very expensive, knife.

"It is made of the finest metals," the man continued. "Just feel that edge."

Duo shook his head and put it back. "Fine for prettying a rich man's belt, but not much else." He looked over the display again. Just as he was beginning to think that maybe the man really didn't have anything he might be interested in he spotted it. 

The blade was made of some gleaming black metal with symbols etched into it. The handle appeared to be carved of a dark wood stained even darker. The only color at all on the knife was the blood red jewel in its pommel.

Almost reluctantly Duo picked it up. He smiled as he weighed the blade in his hand. Who ever had made this knife had known what he was doing. The balance between the blade and the hand were perfect. Even the jewel enhanced that balance. Turning it, Duo looked carefully along the blade. He didn't have to touch it to know that it was honed to a razor sharpness.

With a deft twist of his wrist, Duo flipped the knife into the air, watching it flip end over end. Reaching out he snatched it out of the air, please by the way it had moved. This was any man's dream knife. Perfect for close in fighting or for throwing.

"What does the etchings say?" he asked.

The man looked at him strangely. "Shinigami."

Duo almost moaned out loud. He was almost afraid to ask the next question. "How much?"

"For you. Two thousand."

Duo swallowed. He didn't know if he could persuade Heero into letting him spend that much gold on something as simple as a knife. Reluctantly he put the knife back, allowing his fingers to brush almost reverently across it.

"It takes an unusual man to appreciate such a fine blade. I can give it to you for… say eighteen hundred"

Duo sighed. "Still more that I have, I'm afraid. Maybe some other time." With one last glance at the knife, he turned and walked away, hoping to find Heero nearby.

*****

Heero was standing outside another shop, glaring at anyone who dared cross his path. _Where the hell is that braided idiot? I told him five minutes, not twenty.  
  
_

Just as he was ready to pound something, Duo walked up, followed by Wufei, Trowa and Quatre. "It's about damn time," he growled to Duo.

"Sorry."

Heero suddenly grabbed Duo's chin and forced him to look up. "What's wrong?"

The odd look in Duo's eyes disappeared replaced with his usual gleam. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me. What is it?"

"Really it's nothing. I just saw a nice knife. Too expensive though."

"Where?"

"A couple shops down. Really, it's no big deal."

"How much?"

"Heero I said…."

"How much?" There was a hint of iron in Heero's voice.

Duo looked down. "Eighteen hundred."

"Was it worth it?"

"Yeah. It was a really nice piece of work."

Heero nodded. "Then let's go and get it."

Duo started to shake his head. "Its way to expensive. It's just a knife."

"That you want. That's all I need to know." He started to walk down the street, back the way Duo had come. "You should know…."

Duo looked up at the odd creaking sound that suddenly trickled through the sounds of the crowd. To his shock and dismay he realized that the small empty stall that Heero was passing had begun to sway ominously. "Heero! Look out!"

Heero looked up and realized the danger he was in. Without a second thought, Heero flung himself to one side, just as the walls of the stall collapsed into the space he'd just been in.

Duo dashed over to where Heero had landed. "Are you okay?" he asked, running his hands over Heero as he checked for injuries.

"I'm fine," Heero reassured him. "Though I won't be if you keep that up," he muttered under his breath.

Duo glanced down and blushed as he realized just what was happening. "Sorry."

"Are you all right?" Trowa's anxious voice came from one side. He and Wufei were pushing though the crowd to get to Heero.

Heero was already standing up and brushing himself off. "I'm fine."

Duo was looking at the remains of the stall. He shuddered to think about what could have happened if Heero hadn't managed to get out of the way in time. "You could have been killed," he choked out in a tight voice.

Heero pulled Duo close, not caring what the crowd that had gathered thought. "I'm fine. No harm done."

Suddenly Wufei looked around. "Where's Quatre?"

Trowa started. "He was right here."

Just then Quatre pushed his way through the crowd. "What happened?"

Wufei glared at the blonde. "As if you didn't know?" he answered acidly, nodding to the dirt on Quatre's hands.

Quatre looked down and blushed. "I was looking at potatoes and they were rather dirty."

"I told you to stay with me," Trowa's voice was flat.

Quatre blinked. "I thought you saw me, master."

Trowa only watched the boy, saying nothing. _Is he telling the truth or did he just try and kill another one of us?_


	22. Chapter Twenty One

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-One

By SilverLady

Trowa sat looking out the window at the city. He knew that Heero and Wufei would be showing up soon to discuss what had happened today and what to do about it.

Trowa was torn. He didn't want to believe that Quatre would deliberately try and hurt any of them. And yet…. things were definitely getting odd. Why had Quatre stepped away at just that moment? After he'd told the boy to stay with him.

And then there was Heero's slightly strange behavior after the incident. He'd insisted that he was fine, but that they bring Duo back to the inn, stating that he felt Duo had been more shaken up by the incident than he was. Then Heero had disappeared down the street, acting as if nothing had happened.

Trowa sighed and leaned his head back. 

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Before Trowa could respond, the door swung open and Wufei stepped into the room. He was followed by Heero and Duo. "Sorry for just barging in, but we need to talk," Wufei stated as he walked across the room and sat down in the chair next to the desk. 

Heero nodded his agreement as he guided Duo to sit on the edge of the bed.

Trowa sighed again. "I figured you'd show up sooner or later. I really don't know what you expect me to do. There's been no real proof that he's behind any of this."

"What is it going to take then?" Wufei demanded angrily. "One of us getting killed. It's not just Duo he's after."

Duo looked bewildered. He wasn't sure why Heero had insisted he join them in Trowa's room. He'd promised Quatre to teach him a game of cards Quatre had seen some men playing earlier in the day. "Who's after? What in the world are you talking about?"

"Quatre."

Duo blinked. Then he began to shake his head as understanding came. "You think… You're crazy. Quatre would never hurt me or Heero."

"He found the burr under your saddle blanket."

"After he saved my ass. It was his riding that stopped the horse."

"Made it look good. He wasn't with us when that stall fell over."

"He said he was buying potatoes."

"He didn't have any when he came up."

"He probably didn't have time to buy them. He came to see what had happened."

"He didn't go back."

"You wouldn't let him. Besides, why would he want to kill any of us? And if he did, why not Trowa? He's the one that owns him, not me and not Heero."  
  


"Hurt Trowa by hurting his friends."

Duo turned to Heero, his eyes pleading with him to disagree with Wufei. Heero looked calmly back at him. 

Duo shook his head again. "You're being ridiculous."

"No matter what," Trowa spoke up, "it's obvious that a decision has to be made. I didn't decide to take this trip or invite you along, to have you attacked and almost killed. I won't risk any of you like that."

"So what are you going to do?" Wufei asked.

"You are, of course, free to leave if you wish."

"And leave you without protection," Wufei snorted. "Not bloody likely."

"I was thinking of hiring a guide. The next portion of the trip is through the Carpathian Mountains. It would be a good idea to have a competent guide along."

"And what good will that do?"

"I doubt if anyone will want to try anything with an outside witness present."

Wufei opened and closed his mouth for a minute. Then he exhaled sharply and crossed his arms across his chest.

Duo was looking from one to the other. "What about Michal?"

Trowa looked at him. "What about my cousin?"

"Maybe he's the one behind the accidents. Maybe he's the one that's been trying to kill us."

Trowa shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. My cousin would never try anything like that. What reason would he have? And what would he gain by it?"

Duo blinked. "What reason? How about hating your guts."

"That's inane. Michal and I get along just fine." 

Duo couldn't believe it. They were willing to believe a quiet, frightened, hurt slave boy was capable of killing one of them and not that lunatic cousin of Trowa's. _What, is Quatre going to have to be hurt for them to realize it ain't him?_

"Any way, I talked to the inn keeper and he says the best way to get a guide is go down to the Guild House. They should be able to help us hire a competent guide."

"I still don't see how continuing this trip is going to help things out," Wufei grumbled.

"This trip was taken under the pretense of health reasons. It would look odd if we return after only a couple of weeks. And as I already told you, until I have positive proof otherwise, I will continue to believe that Quatre is innocent."

Heero watched his friend closely. He knew the underlying reason for Trowa's reluctance to believe Quatre was capable of hurting anyone of them. He hoped his trust was not misplaced. He would keep a close eye just to be sure. He wasn't letting anything else happen to Duo.

The others had all kept saying how he could have been killed this afternoon, but Heero saw it differently. If Duo had been walking his normal two paces behind him, it would have been Duo that would have been hit by that falling stand. It would have been Duo that could have been killed. He wouldn't rest until he found out who was trying to kill his lover, be it Quatre, Michal, or someone else.

At that moment Duo placed his hand over his mouth, trying to fight back a yawn. "Excuse me," Duo said softly, his voice sounding tired.

Heero was instantly on his feet, noting the weary look on Duo's face and the dark smudges under his eyes. "Time for bed," he stated calmly.

Duo arched an eyebrow at him, but rose to his feet.

Heero looked at Trowa. "Let me know when you plan on going in the morning. I want to go with you."

Trowa nodded. "Fine."

Wufei smirked a little as Heero reached out, snagged Duo's braid and led the tired boy from the room. "One of these days, he's going to yank too hard on that braid and snatch Duo bald."

Trowa looked at Wufei. "And you hope to be there if it happens."

"Of course." Wufei rose to his feet and bowed to Trowa. "I hope you know what you are doing. Know that I will back you up in any way necessary." With another bow, Wufei left the room.

Trowa ran his hand through his hair. "I hope we're going in the right direction."

*****

After firmly shutting the door behind him, Heero led Duo over to the bed. With a small push, he made the longhaired boy sit down on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Duo mumbled as Heero sank to his knees in front of him.

Heero smirked up at him. "Just relax. I'm going to take care of you for a change." He began to remove the boots Duo was wearing, carefully setting them beside the bed.

Duo watched Heero through half lidded eyes, fighting to stay awake. He felt as if someone had suddenly drained all the energy from him. "That's nice."

Heero smiled as he stood up and began unbuttoning Duo's shirt.

"Uh, Heero. I don't think I'm…."

Heero placed a finger on Duo's mouth. "I'm not looking for that tonight. Let me take care of you." Carefully he slide the shirt from Duo's body and turned his attention to removing the tight pants encasing Duo's legs.

When he was finished he gently pushed Duo back, reaching to draw the covers over him. 

Duo sighed as he leaned back against the thick pillows. It was nice to be pampered now and then. 

"Before you go to sleep I want you to see something," Heero whispered softly.

Duo looked at him sleepily. "What?"

Heero pulled a small package from beneath the pillows. "A gift,"

Duo took the carefully wrapped gift from Heero. Turning it over in his hand he could only stare at it.  
  


Heero noted the odd sheen that had appeared in Duo's eyes and was suddenly nervous. Had he done the right thing? "Duo?"

Duo looked up at Heero, fighting back the tears that threatened. It was a loosing battle.

Heero reached out and gently wiped away a tear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry again."

Duo smiled a little through his tears. "No one's ever given me a present before."

Heero cupped Duo's cheek with his hand. "Then I'll have to remember to buy you gifts more often. You deserve them."

Duo blinked._ How did I manage to get so lucky?_

Heero gave him a small rare smile. "Open it."

Looking down, Duo carefully opened the paper. Something made him want to savor the moment for as long as possible. 

He suddenly gasped as the paper fell away and the gift was revealed. "Heero!"

"It's the right one, isn't it? It's the one the man said you were looking at."

Duo could only stare in stunned disbelief at the knife he held in his hands. He had never expected Heero to go and get it.

Heero touched Duo's shoulder. "Duo? It's all right, isn't it?"

The uncertainty in Heero's voice penetrated Duo's stunned mind and he looked at him, a smile blossoming on his face. "Oh, Heero. It's perfect."

Heero sighed in relief. He hadn't been sure about the gift at all, though the knife did seem to be the kind he thought Duo might like. "I want you to keep it with you. I want to know you have a way to defend yourself, should anyone try and hurt you." He reached out and ran his finger down the symbols etched in the blade. "I didn't ask what this means."

"I did," Duo whispered. "Shinigami."

Heero smiled. "Perfect. I know it will keep you safe."

Duo sighed as he carefully set the blade on the nightstand. Then he leaned back into Heero's arms. "Not as safe as you do."

Heero laughed softly as he placed a kiss on the top of Duo's head. "Go to sleep, my wild child. I'll watch over you."

Duo sighed again, but closed his eyes and burrowed his head under Heero's chin. With in moments he was asleep.

Heero shifted carefully, getting more comfortable before closing his eyes. "I won't let anyone take you from me," he promised quietly, before sleep overtook him as well.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Two

By SilverLady

Quatre sat staring at the empty bed on the other side of his small room. Empty because Duo wasn't sleeping in it. He and Heero had quit pretending they were just slave and master and Duo had moved into Heero's bed.

Quatre was happy for Duo. He had a feeling that this was just what Duo had been looking for.

Sighing, Quatre shifted on the bed. It was rather early and no one else seemed to be up. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing, since Trowa had told him nothing before going to bed the night before. He did get the sense that the others were angry at him for some reason, but he didn't know what it could be.

He still wondered about yesterday's accident. It just seemed strange that that stall would happen to fall just as Heero walked past. _Were they trying to get Heero or Duo, though? It could have been either one._

Quatre had thought a long time about the situation and had come to the unhappy conclusion that, somehow, Trowa's cousin Michal was behind the incidents and that it was his fault. If he had just let Michal have what he had wanted that night, he wouldn't be angry with Duo and Heero. _Could it have really been that awful? Heero and Duo have sex all the time and both certainly seem to enjoy it._

Just then, with just the barest of knocks, Trowa opened the door and walked into the room. "We're meeting downstairs in five minutes. Be there."

"Yes, master."

Trowa looked at him for a minute, then turned on his heel and left.

Quatre sighed again, reaching for his shoes. Maybe it was just the town they were in, but Trowa had not corrected him once about addressing him as master. Quatre hadn't tried to figure out why, though. It was just the strange ways of these strange people, perhaps.

Rising to his feet, he quietly made his way out of the room and headed for the stairs. He noticed that Wufei had already started down and he guessed the others were already waiting below.

He'd barely taken three of the stairs when he felt an abrupt pressure against his back. The unexpected shove caused him to loose his balance and he stumbled. Reaching out instinctively his hand came in contact with Wufei's back.

Wufei, also caught off guard, lost his balance as well. He tried to catch himself, to no avail, and with a crash pitched the rest of the way down the stairs to land in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

Trowa had looked up at the noise, just in time to see Wufei fall down the stairs. Moving as quickly as he could he headed for stairs, hoping that Wufei was alright.

Wufei was moaning and attempting to sit up when Trowa reached him. By that time Duo and Heero had appeared, coming out of the adjacent dining hall to see what the noise was.

Trowa knelt down beside Wufei. "Don't try and move," he said softly. "You could be badly hurt."

Wufei slowly shook his head. "I'm fine," he insisted, continuing his efforts to sit up. "Just bruised and…." He hissed in pain as he tried to put some weight on his left arm.

Trowa quickly helped him to sit up and lean against the wall. Carefully he felt along the arm. "It's broken," he announced quietly.

"What happened?" Heero demanded as he knelt down on the other side of Wufei.

Wufei glared up at Quatre, who was standing to stunned shock on the stairs. "He pushed me."

Quatre blinked at the accusation. "It was an accident. I…"

Trowa looked up at him, his eyes cold. "Go back to your room and wait for me."

"But…"

"Now." Trowa voice indicated that he was to be obeyed.

Quatre hung his head. "Yes, master." Turning, he slowly made his way up the stairs.

Trowa looked at Heero. "I think you and Duo should take Wufei to a doctor and have him checked out. That arm needs to be set and you need to be sure they aren't any more injuries."

Wufei glared at the two of them. "Don't talk like I can't hear you. I'm fine. I sure don't need to see…." He nearly bit his tounge as Heero reached out to feel his injured arm. "Damn it, Yuy! That hurt."

"I though you said you were fine."

Wufei sagged back against the wall. "All right. Let's get this over and done with."

Heero nodded. "Duo, get his other side. We'll support you, so don't try and do anything yourself."  
  


"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Heero glanced at Trowa, who had moved to one side to let Duo in. "What are you going to do?"

Trowa glanced at the stairs. "Get to the bottom of this."

Heero nodded. "We'll be back shortly."

Trowa was quiet as he watched Duo and Heero help Wufei up and head towards the front of the inn. Then, with a sigh, he turned and head up the stairs.

*****

Quatre jerked up as the door slammed open and Trowa walked into the room. "What did you think you were doing?" Trowa's voice was flat and cold.

"It was an accident. Someone pushed me."

"There was nobody on those stairs but you and Wufei."  
  


"But…"  
  


"Enough!" Trowa roared, suddenly furious. "I have had enough! I don't know what you've hoped to accomplish with your little games, but they end here. "

Quatre blinked, uncertain as to what Trowa meant.

"Don't give me that innocent look. You know damn well what I mean. I thought this trip would be good for you. Give you a chance to get to know me and me know you. But what do you do? Try and hurt or even kill the three people I consider my best friends. And why? I thought you liked Duo and I didn't think you had anything against either Heero or Wufei."

Quatre could only stare in shock. Trowa thought he was the cause of the attacks on the others? "But Master I…"

***Crack***

 Quatre gasped in shock, his hand going to the cheek Trowa had just slapped, which was turning red from the force of the blow. 

 "Enough. I'm through coddling you. From now on, you speak only when spoken to, by me. I don't want to hear any excuses. I tried to be understanding, but that obviously hasn't worked. Stupidly enough, I actually wanted to be your friend, but you repay me with nasty acts of cruelty to my friends.

"I was half tempted to turn around and head back to Macir, but I've decided not to. It's been a long time since I've taken any kind of trip and I intend to enjoy it. But we will be doing things my way from now on. I'm hiring someone to take over the cooking and supply duties, since I can't trust you. From now on, your only duty is to wait on me. I don't want you near anyone or anything without my express permission. You are not to go anywhere alone, not even to relieve yourself.  

Trowa turned to leave. "You will sit on this bed until I call for you. And be glad your punishment wasn't more than this. Next time you hurt one of my friends, I'll have you beaten until you won't be able to sit for a week. Is that understood?"

"Yes, master," Quatre whispered, staring at the floor.

"Just so it's clear." With that Trowa turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. 

Quatre sagged slowly to bed, struggling to hold his tears at bay. They thought he was behind the attacks. They thought he had tried to kill Duo, Heero and Wufei. But why?  He had no reason to hurt them. He liked them. 

And now Trowa hated him. Why did that hurt most of all? More so than the cutting words and the hit. He, too, had hoped to begin to get to know the young man that had bought him better during this trip. Now it didn't seem as if that was going to be possible.

_When did I stop hating him so much and start to like and respect him? And how can I prove that it wasn't me that tried to hurt the others._ Suddenly he wanted the Trowa he begun to know on this trip back. And somehow, he would find a way to clear himself and prove to the others that it hadn't been him.

_Is this another part of the test, Great One? What I am I supposed to do? What is this all leading to?_


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Three

By SilverLady

Two mornings later Quatre was carefully checking Trowa's room to make sure nothing had been left behind.

Trowa had made arrangements to meet up with a guide that afternoon at an inn several miles outside of town. Trowa had informed him he wanted all of his things packed and ready to go, but Quatre was not to put anything on any of the horses. He was going to get one of the stable hands to take care of the packing. It told Quatre just how little Trowa now trusted him. He was afraid that Trowa would decide he trusted him so little that he would sell him to one of those horrible men that Duo had talked about.

Quatre sighed sadly as he remembered the scene from two nights before.

*****

Quatre had followed Trowa into the dining area of the inn. Trowa had told him that he was to stand behind his chair and do nothing. That he would get something to eat after the others were finished.

Duo had smiled in greeting as Trowa and Quatre had walked up to the table. "Hey, Quatre. How's it going? You all right." 

Quatre had stared at the ground; not daring to even meet Duo's eyes for fear Trowa would disapprove.

Duo frowned. "Is everything all right? You're not mad at me are you?"

Trowa had turned to look calmly at Duo. "Don't bother talking to him. He has his orders and for once he's listening."

Duo had blinked at Trowa in surprise. "Orders?"

"He is not to talk or have anything to do with anyone but me. I will not put your lives at risk again."

Duo had frowned, but a warning glare from Heero had silenced the words he'd been about to say. Shooting another glance at Quatre, Duo had followed Heero to the table.

Trowa had paused beside one of the chairs at the table they had been led to, looking at it then at Quatre. 

Quatre could read what Trowa was thinking as if he'd said the words out loud. _Pull out my chair and you'd best not try anything._ Quatre had immediately moved to help Trowa to sit down and then had taken up his place behind and slightly to the left of the chair.

He'd kept his eyes downcast, not wanting to see the anger in Heero's and Wufei's eyes nor the questions in Duo's.

The meal had seemed terrible long to Quatre, since he had nothing to do. The boredom combine with the fact that the smell of the food was making his stomach twist in complaint, had made Quatre feel as if it had taken three times as long as it really had.

Finally, the meal was finished and the others had gotten to their feet. Quatre had moved forward to assist Trowa as he had been told. He was suddenly determined to not give Trowa any more reason to be angry with him. 

Trowa had nodded at the blonde's quick reaction. "Very good. You may take this plate to your room and eat." Trowa indicated the plate that remained on the table.

Quatre didn't even flinch as he got sight of the small bits of leftovers he'd been given. It was no more than most slaves would expect to get and it was apparent that Trowa had every intention of treating Quatre exactly like every other slave in his possession from now on.

 Taking the plate, he had followed Trowa back up the stairs.

*****

Quatre sighed again. Somehow he had to prove that he hadn't meant to cause Wufei to fall down those stairs. That he really had been pushed. And that he wasn't responsible for the other things that had happened. _Is it just coincidence that I am being blamed for this? Or is this all part of his plan? Maybe he's hoping that Trowa will get so disgusted with me that he'll sell me and he'll be able to buy me._

Quatre silently vowed that he would get to the bottom of this. He agreed with Trowa on one thing. He did not want to see the others hurt anymore. And he knew that if, somehow, he ended up in Michal's possession, his second attempt at suicide would be his last. There was no way he would live with that man as his master. He was many times worse that Trowa could ever hope to be.

*****

Duo watched in disbelief as Quatre followed Trowa out into the courtyard. The blonde had been quiet and subdued since the incident on the stairs. Duo had tried to get him to talk to him, but Quatre had simply stared at the floor and said nothing.

Duo still couldn't believe that they thought Quatre had deliberately pushed Wufei down the stairs. If he was really behind the accidents that had been happening lately, he certainly wouldn't have done any thing so blatant. But Heero had brushed Duo's arguments aside, calmly stating that it was between Trowa and Quatre and that he wasn't to interfere.

He watched as Quatre stood to one side, waiting silently for the horses to be brought out. _I thought the purpose of this trip was to help Quatre get better. Now he looks worse than he did before we left. _What little light that had finally begun to burn again the quiet boy's eyes was gone._ Damn it! Why are they being so stubborn about this? If I was to pick someone to blame for what's going on, Quatre would be at the bottom of the list. He's more likely to do something to himself than to go after any one else. He just ain't got the personality to hurt another person. And I should know all about that. Hell, why aint' they accusin' me of doin' it? I'm the one with the reputation for killing owners. What makes them think I've changed? I have, but they don't really know that._ Duo turned his attention to Heero, who was talking quietly with Trowa and Wufei. _I'd slit my own throat before I'd do anything to hurt Heero. And hurtin' his friends would be the same as hurtin' him. And I sure don't understand how come Trowa dismissed the possibility of his cousin bein' behind all this. That is one fucked up guy._

Just then the sounds of horses' hoof beats interrupted Duo's musings. Swallowing hard, he walked carefully towards the big black horse that was his ride. He didn't want to admit it, but he was still more than a bit scared at riding the horse that had almost killed him.

"I'll be riding him," Heero said quietly, walking up behind Duo. "You take my horse."

Duo looked up at Heero in surprise. "Uuh?"

Heero smiled slightly as he guided Duo over to the white mare he'd been riding. He knew damn well that Duo wasn't completely over his fright. He had decided it was best to let Duo get comfortable riding again by giving him a different horse, one that hadn't scared the living daylights out of him.

Quatre walked silently up to Trowa. He'd been half afraid that Trowa would tell him he wasn't trustworthy enough to ride and would have to walk. But all five horses had their saddles in place, so maybe.

Trowa nodded to the stable hand, then turned to glance at Quatre. In his hands he held a lead rope. Without saying a word, he walked up to Quatre's horse and clipped it onto the bridle.

"Get on," Trowa said coldly.

Quatre blinked in surprise. He'd figured Trowa would expect him to help him mount first. "Master?"

Trowa stepped up to Quatre. "Don't think I'm going to give you the chance to bolt. Get on the horse, now. And just so you don't try anything, I'm keeping the lead rein on your horse from now on. You are to ride with your hands on the pommel or in your lap. You are not to touch the reins without my permission, for any reason."

Quatre swallowed, but nodded. "Yes, master." Moving quickly, he scrambled up onto the horse's back.

With a vague nod, Trowa turned and let one of the stable hands help him mount up as well.

*****

It was late afternoon when they finally arrived at the inn where they were to meet their guide.

"I hope he hasn't left," Wufei grumbled, shifting his casted arm to a more comfortable position. He'd ridden the entire day with Quatre well in front of him. He wanted that blonde sneak where he could keep an eye on him from now on. He was still cursing himself for being so stupid as to turn his back on the slave.

Trowa said nothing as he stepped into the inn. He had been assured by the Guild that the guide was reliable and willing to agree to the terms he had laid out. Trowa wasn't exactly sure how they knew this, but he was willing to put his trust in them. They wouldn't last long if they couldn't keep their word.

Just then a slender figure extracted itself from the shadows and walked over. "You Lord Batona?"

Trowa blinked at the woman, but no hint of surprise showed on his face. "Yes."

"I'm the guide you asked for. The name's Salira, most just call me Sal."

Trowa looked the woman over. She was dressed in plain brown breeches and a green shirt. Her light brown hair was done in two twisted braids that came to just past shoulder length. There was a no nonsense manner about her that spoke of competence and experience. 

"I was lead to understand you had agreed to the terms I requested."

Sal nodded. "I'm to show you and your party through the Carpathian Mountains to Kendil on the other side. You also want me to act as supplier and cook on the trip."

"That is correct."

"No problem. You got all the basic stuff?"

"Yes. We've been traveling for a couple of weeks now. I understand that the mountains are dangerous to those who are not familiar with them and felt that a guide would be the best idea."

Sal frowned. "Mind if I take a look. Earl here sells a lot of things and I'd like to take advantage of it while we're here."

"Go right on ahead."

"Thanks." With a nod, Sal headed out the door.

"I can't believe your going to hire that woman," Wufei sputtered as soon as the door closed.

Trowa looked over at him. "I don't see were there is a problem. She is in agreement and I was assured she know the mountains as well, if not better, than anyone. Plus, I understand she is skilled in healing, which is a bonus."

"She's a woman."

Trowa arched an eyebrow. "I did notice that."

"It is not a woman's place to do a man's job. Did you see how she was dressed?"

"Wufei." Heero said quietly.

"What?"

"You sound like your father."

Wufei glared at Heero, snapping his mouth shut in anger.

*****

A few minutes later Sal walked back into the inn. "I don't know who your outfitter was, but he sure knew what he was doing. I've not seen a better setup in a long time." She looked at Trowa. "So, do we have a deal?"

"If you are in agreement."

"Sounds good to me. I don't think I need to get to much."

"Then yes, we have a deal." Trowa extended his hand, which Sal shook firmly. "Do you want to leave now or in the morning?"

"Why don't you go ahead and spend the night here. We can start fresh in the morning."

"Fine. What time?"

"After breakfast. Around eight or so. I don't worry much about clocks, unless you're on a tight schedule."

"No. We don't have to any where at any certain time."

Sal nodded. "Good. See you in the morning."

"Agreed."

With another handshake, Sal turned on her heel and headed back out the door.

Trowa glanced over at Wufei, who was still grumbling about women doing men's work. "Did you need your arm looked at?"

Wufei looked up sharply. "No. It's fine. If you don't mind, I'm going to get a room and get some food."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Quatre sighed as Trowa turned and walked towards the counter where a clerk waited to help them. _He didn't even say anything when she said I did a good job. What am I going to have to do to make him not so cold anymore? And why do I care so much?_


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Four

By SilverLady

The crackle of the fire was about the only sound heard in the campsite. That and the sounds of people eating.

Duo sighed as he stared down at his plate. While Sal was a good cook, her choices in meals was getting.... boring. He wasn't sure if she'd actually made something new tonight or had just snuck last night's meal in on them.

He stole a glance across the fire, to where Quatre was sitting attentively at Trowa's feet. He still couldn't believe that the blonde had anything to do with the things that had happened a couple of weeks ago. When he had told Heero that, Heero had pointed out that there been no more incidents since then. As far as Heero was concerned, they had gotten the right person and no amount of arguing on Duo's part had changed his mind. 

Duo smiled slightly. And he'd used some damn good arguments, too. 

The smile melted away as he noticed Quatre slowly stand up and take Trowa's plate. He had thought that the original intent of this trip was to make Quatre feel better. But in the past two weeks, any good that had been done had been wiped out. Just as Quatre had begun to show signs of improving, this had happened and he'd retreated back into his silent shell. There was nothing golden about him anymore; even his hair seemed dull and lifeless. It was as if all the energy had been drained away.

Duo was afraid that Quatre would try and kill himself again. If not out right, then slowly, wasting away from lack of interest in living. And there was nothing he could do but sit and watch it happen. 

Duo had tried on several occasions to talk to him, to find out what had really happened, but Quatre was following Trowa's orders to the letter. Duo had even tried yelling at him, but Quatre had simply stared at the ground and said nothing. It had been like banging his head against a wall.

As he sat wondering about what else he could do, Sal walked over and sat down next to Trowa. Duo noticed that Wufei, who had been sitting on the other side, immediately got up and headed toward the tent. 

The two had struck sparks off each other from the first morning. Wufei was determined to find fault in everything she did and Sal was determined to show him up. It had become quite a contest. Duo personally put his money on Sal. There was one woman who knew exactly what she was and what she wanted. A small part of him wondered if Wufei actually liked that, that he enjoyed the challenge that Sal represented. 

"The trail tomorrow is going to be a bit rough," she told Trowa.

Trowa looked at her for minute. "How rough?"

"We'll have to ride pretty much single file. And there's always the chance of rockslidees, so you have to be careful. Luckily, once we're past this part, it's clear sailing the rest of the way."

Trowa nodded. He'd been pleased with his choice of guides and with his decision to no longer allow Quatre to be involved in the trip. Sal was an excellent guide and there had been no more attacks on anyone in the group.

In fact, he'd berated himself for even trying to be friendly to the blonde slave. It was becoming apparent to him that there was only one way to treat any slave and that was with a firm hand. It had been foolish of him to even think of trying to make a friend of the boy. 

He frowned as he looked over to where Quatre was quietly washing his dishes. He'd decided that, for the safety of the others, Quatre was no longer to sleep in a separate tent. He'd found the past two weeks of having Quatre sleeping at the end of his bed... enlightening.

_Perhaps when we get back I'll get Hemlin to finish training him. I'm sure it wouldn't take much._

*****

It was mid morning when they hit the stretch of trail that Sal had warned them about. Quatre could understand why she had been concerned. The trail was not very wide, maybe seven feet from side to side, with a steep rise on one side and a long drop on the other. There were also loose rocks that testified to the area's history of rockslidees.

After about an hour of riding Quatre noticed that his horse was walking oddly. He didn't want the horse to suffer needlessly, but he was afraid if he said anything Trowa would be angry.

Just as he was about to go ahead and say something Heero called out from behind him. "Trowa, I think that horse has a stone in its foot."

Trowa turned to look back and noticed that Quatre's horse was indeed limping. Bringing both horses to a stop he looked calmly at Quatre. "You may dismount and see what is wrong."

Quatre nodded slightly then slide from the horse's back. Bending down, he carefully lifted its front left leg off the ground. Sure enough, a small rock had become lodged between the wall of the hoof and the soft area of the foot. Carefully, Quatre extracted the stone, relieved that there was no sign of swelling. Hopefully he'd gotten it out in time. 

Just as he stood up, there was an odd rumbling sound and a rock landed on the path not two feet from him. More rapidly followed the first rock, until the air was full of flying rocks.

"Rockslidee!" Sal called out. "Get out of here!"

There was a sudden squeal from Trowa's horse as it was hit in the rump by a rock. Shaking its head, the horse bolted down the path, intent on getting away from the falling rocks.

The other horses had the same idea and soon everyone found themselves clear of the slidee. 

Duo sagged in his saddle, relief making him limp. Casting his glance around in concern, he was relieved to find that Heero had also made it clear. After a minute he spotted Wufei, who had apparently had an argument with his horse about stopping. The horse was shaking his head and trying to bolt down the trail, but Wufei was too stubborn to let it have its way.

Just then he realized that something was wrong. He'd spotted Quatre's horse, but there was no sign of Quatre. Twisting in his saddle, he looked back up the trail. The sight that met his eyes filled him with horror. Quatre was standing in the middle of the path, staring at the ground and making no move to escape the falling rocks.

"Damn it, Quatre!" Duo shouted. "Get you ass out of there!"

Quatre heard Duo's shouts, but didn't move. Trowa had been very specific in his orders and Quatre was determined to obey them. No matter what.

*****

It had taken Trowa several minutes to bring his horse under control. The pain-maddened animal had been determined to get as far away from the source of pain as quickly as possible.

Finally, he got it turned around and headed back up the trail. He hoped the others had managed to clear as well.

He was still around a bend and unable to see the others when he heard Duo shouting.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?! Damn it, Quatre, quit standing there! Get you scrawny little ass over here!"

As he rounded the corner he saw something he would never forget.

Heero was physically restraining Duo, who was shouting and cursing at the still figure up the trail as well as at Heero. The braided boy was trying to escape Heero's grasp, twisting and kicking in his efforts.

Heero didn't budge, even when Duo came close to punching him in the groin in his efforts to escape. There was no way he was going to risk losing Duo, not for any reason. He couldn't understand why the blonde had made no move to escape the falling rocks.

Trowa watched in horror as a rock glanced off Quatre's shoulder. Though it obviously staggered the boy, he made no move to evade it.  

Duo suddenly realized Trowa had returned. "You stupid bastard, look what you did. Quite fucking standing there with you damn mouth hanging open and tell him to get his stupid ass out of there. You fucking told him not to do a damn thing without you permission and that's what the fuck he's doing. You didn't tell him to him to move so he's going to fucking get himself killed. God damn fucking stupid mother...." The rest of Duo's tirade was muffled as Heero clamped his hand over his mouth.

Trowa reeled in shock as he realized Duo was right. Quatre was obeying him, to the letter. And in obeying him, he was going to die. Because Trowa knew there was no way Quatre could move fast enough to escape the falling rocks.

With no thought, Trowa spurred his horse forward, praying that he wasn't too late. Although angry at the boy, he'd never wanted to see him hurt like this.

It seemed like forever before Trowa finally reached Quatre. He'd taken several hits from small rocks, but several very large rocks had narrowly missed him. He didn't even take the time to say anything to Quatre, he simply reached down and grabbed the boy, yanking him up in front of him as he turned the horse on the narrow trail and headed back the way he'd come. 

He'd barely begun to move when a huge boulder slammed into the ground where Quatre had been standing.

There were several more close calls, but Trowa managed to evade the worst as he made his way back to the others.

Bringing the horse to a stop he let Quatre slidee to the ground. Almost flinging himself out of the saddle, he grabbed at Quatre's shoulders and gave him a hard shake. "Why didn't you get out of there?" he demanded angrily.  He barely made note of the trickle of blood that ran down the right side of Quatre's face, evidence of another rock that hadn't missed.

Quatre slowly looked up into Trowa's angry green eyes.  "You didn't tell me too, Master," he whispered, before the blackness rose up and engulfed him.

Trowa could only stand there with his mouth open as Quatre went limp. 


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Additional Warnings: Lemon in this part

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Five

By SilverLady

Fortunately, Sal had known of an inn nearby and had led them directly there. She had also insisted that Trowa send for a doctor to examine the injured, especially Quatre.

Then she had offered to ride back and investigate the site of the fall. She had heard about the previous attempts on their lives and felt it would be wise to find out if this had been an accident or intentional.

Much to Trowa's surprise, Wufei had insisted on going with her.

Now Heero sat on the sofa in the sitting room of the suite Trowa had reserved, watching as Trowa paced back and forth.

Heero's fingers moved restlessly through Duo's hair as the longhaired boy slept, his head resting in Heero's lap. He had hoped this trip would help him come to an understanding on how he felt about his beautiful slave. This wasn't the way he had intended on going about it, though. For the third time he could have lost him. But it had also left him with no doubt at all. He was going to make this man his life mate.

"If you keep that up you're going to wear a hole in the floor and the owners of this place will have to have it fixed," Heero finally said, when he noticed that Trowa's limp was growing more and more pronounced.

Trowa whirled around at the sound of Heero's voice. "I thought you had gone to your room."

Heero indicated Duo's sleeping form. "I didn't want to wake him yet." He paused. "Besides, I figured you'd need someone to talk to." He glanced at the bedroom door. "What did the doctor say?"

"I have to go wake him up in a few minutes and make sure he's all right."

Heero arched an eyebrow. "He's been awake?"

"When the doctor examined him."

"How bad is it?"

"Possible concussion. A lot of bruises and lacerations. A couple of the cuts needed stitches." 

"Did he say anything?"

"Not much. Although he wouldn't answer, at first. I had to tell him to answer the doctor's questions."

Trowa suddenly turned and walked over to the fireplace. "He could have been killed, standing out there waiting for me to tell him to move."

"That is what you told him, isn't it. To not do anything without your permission."

Trowa glared at him. 

"He was following your orders. You hadn't told him to move."

"But I didn't mean he was to just stand there and get himself killed."

Duo stirred restlessly at Trowa's angry voice, but Heero gently rubbed his hand across his shoulder and he settled back down.

"Then it wouldn't be his fault."

"What?"

"If he died it wouldn't have been his doing. He was simply obeying your orders. His death would be your fault not his."

Trowa's shoulders sagged. "This is getting worse every time I turn around. I'm beginning to understand why my father turned it all over to Felix."

Heero had his own opinion on that subject, but said nothing.

Trowa sighed. "I'd best go see if he'll wake up."

Heero watched him go. What was supposed to have been a relaxing vacation was turning into anything but.

*****

Trowa leaned back against the door for a minute, looking at the small figure in the bed. This incident made him question himself all over again. Was he doing the right thing? Had he been right to punish Quatre on what was really just circumstantial evidence? Was the blonde behind what had happened or was it really someone else? And who exactly was the target? 

With a sigh he moved away from the door and walked over to the bed. Sitting carefully on the edge, he reached over to gently shake Quatre.

"Quatre. Open your eyes for a minute and look at me." Trowa kept his voice low.

After a minute, Quatre slowly opened his eyes a little. "Master?" he whispered.

"I'm sorry I woke you up, but the doctor wants to make sure you're okay."

Quatre blinked. "Okay?"

"Does anything hurt?"

"Everything, Master."

 "What hurts the worst?"

"My head, Master."

Trowa shifted forward a bit to check the bandage. He immediately realized that was the wrong move when all the color drained from Quatre's face and he proceeded to loose the contents of his stomach all over himself, the bed and Trowa.

Trowa sighed. _The doctor did warn me he might feel nauseous for a while._

*****

Trowa had only been gone a few minutes when Heero heard Wufei's voice, ranting about something.

Suddenly the door burst open and Wufei stormed into the room. "Where's Trowa?" he snapped.

"He just went to check on Quatre."

Wufei glanced at Duo's sleeping form. "Is he all right?"

Heero nodded. "Just some bruises."

Giving a brisk nod Wufei moved over to the table on the far side of the room. "How long has this food been here?"

"Not very long."

"And Duo's still sleeping?"

"Amazingly."

Sal stood in the doorway, watching the exchange between the two men. She had learned al lot about them in the past few weeks simply by watching the way they interacted with each other. She could understand how any one of them had managed to get an enemy that would try and kill them. They were the kind of men that would inspire intense loyalty or intense hatred.

She did agree with Duo, though. There was no way the quiet blonde was behind the attacks. It simply wasn't in his nature. He would be much more likely to remove himself, not try and hurt others.

"Did you find out anything?" Heero asked as he watched Wufei place some food on a plate.

"The slidee was deliberate," Sal told him.

"You're sure."

"There were signs that someone had been camping on the ledge above the area. I found traces of a fire."

Wufei glared at her. Heero sensed that Wufei had not been happy that it had apparently been Sal that had found the campsite.

"So it is doubtful that Quatre had anything to do with it."

"Unless he had accomplices," Wufei commented.

Sal threw up her hands in disgust. "I don't believe you. Next you'll be saying that Quatre must be telepathic, since that would be the only way he could have gotten in touch with anyone."

Wufei arched an eyebrow at her. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that Lord Trowa has had him on such a short leash that he's practically up his ass."  She shook her head. "But what else should I expect. You're determined to find fault in everything he does."

"You do not know the whole story."

"I've heard enough to know that boy had nothing to do with it."

Wufei turned his back on her. "I will not listen to the foolish ramblings of a woman."

Sal shook her head again. She had expected something like that from him. _He is cute when he gets a riled up like that._

Heero smirked at the exchange. Wufei was retreating into such responses more and more. _I do believe he's met his match in our guide._

Suddenly Wufei jumped and spun around. "Woman! What do you think you're doing?"

Sal smiled at him. "I would think that would have been obvious, even to you."

"How dare you touch my butt!" Wufei drew himself up very straight. "Do you know who I am?"

Sal grinned. "No. Who are you?"

Wufei sputtered. "I am Wufei Chang, son of Mitsuma, Lord of the House of Dragon, Guardian of the Seventh Moon, Pro...."

Wufei's rant was suddenly cut off as Sal leaned over and kissed him.

Heero noted that she also got a good grope on his ass again.

When she pulled away, Wufei stood staring at her, his mouth opening and closing but no sounds emerging.

"Now you look like the King of Karp," she told him, before turning and walking out the door. "See you later, Heero."

Wufei stood there for a minute longer. Suddenly he lunged for the door. "Woman!" he bellowed. "Get back here!"

Much to Heero's surprise he realized that Duo's body was shaking with silent laughter.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough."

Heero glanced down at him. "What are you doing?"

"Admiring the view."

Heero swallowed hard when he realized just what view Duo had. "You should be resting."

Duo looked up at him, humor dancing in his eyes. "I have been."

Heero swallowed again. "Are you hungry?"

Duo turned his head back, letting his mouth graze across Heero's groin. "Oh yes," he murmured. "But I have to unwrap it first."

"I meant a sandwich."

"All I want is the meat." Duo leaned forward and pressed an open mouth kiss against the growing swell in Heero's pants.

"Duo!" Heero groaned out, his hips arching into the kiss. He still couldn't believe how fast he reacted to Duo's touch.

Duo smiled at the sound of Heero's voice. He loved to hear him say his name in just that way. He danced his fingers across Heero's hip, tugging playfully at the waistband of his pants.

"You two do have a room to do that in," Wufei complained as he walked back into the room.

Duo laughed as he suddenly rolled to his feet. "Sounds good to me." He reached out a hand to Heero. "How about you?"

Heero looked at the hand then he looked at Duo. Suddenly he came to his feet, rising in such a way that Duo found himself draped over Heero's shoulder.

"I'll take that as a yes," Duo gasped as Heero headed for the door.

Heero lightly smacked his upturned rear, but said nothing.

Duo sighed as he let his body go limp. "At least the view is nice." He slide his hand down Heero's back and into his pants.

Heero smacked his butt again, harder this time. "Duo."

Duo laughed and let his other hand join the first.

"Don't bare my ass to everyone in the inn."

"Then move it."

Heero snorted, but fortunately chose not to respond. After another minute, he was opening the door to their room.

As soon as the door was closed Duo was forcing the pants downward to expose the creamy firm flesh of Heero's ass.

Suddenly he found himself upended and looking into Heero's face. He smiled at the fire he saw there, knowing he was the only one to ever see it.

"Duo..."

Duo placed a finger on Heero's lips. "Let me." He leaned forward and replaced the finger with his lips. 

At first the kisses were soft as he gently explored Heero's mouth with his own. Then he traced the full lips with his tongue, sighing at the sounds coming from Heero. Finally he pressed his mouth fully against Heero's, his tongue surging forward to demand entrance. With a moan, Heero opened his mouth, silently granting Duo full access to the warm cavern

Duo took full advantage of the silent invitation, exploring every nook and cranny, seeing just what touch brought moans of pleasure from Heero. Though he had done this many times before, every time seemed like the first.

Finally, reluctantly, Duo pulled away. Heero moaned in protest and tried to pull Duo back, but Duo would not be swayed from his goal. "No," he whispered. "Tonight is for you." 

Using only his lips, he rained gentle kisses on Heero's neck, slowly tracing a path to the collar of Heero's shirt. 

Heero moaned and arched his neck as he felt Duo pressing his lips to point where his neck and shoulder met. A shudder ran through him when Duo bit down gently, then loving lapped at the mark with his tongue. He reached up to run his hands through Duo's hair, urging him to linger.

Duo smiled against the side of Heero's neck. Sighing he slide his hands under Heero's shirt, slideing it up as he traced the flesh beneath with the fingers.

"Duo," Heero whispered again, moaning when Duo began to trace light circles across his nipples, bringing them painfully erect. "Please,"

"Please what?" Duo murmured against his neck.

"The shirt. Take it off."

Duo smiled, but did as he was bid. Swiftly the shirt was flung off and Duo began to explore the newly exposed territory with his mouth.

Heero sighed and press Duo his hand against the back of Duo's head when he felt Duo's mouth slide across an aching nipple. Duo began to lap at it with his tongue, all the time running his fingers lightly across the other. 

Heero arched his hips, his groin feeling constricted in the suddenly too tight pants. But he couldn't rub himself against Duo, since every time he tried Duo would dance just out of reach. 

What he didn't know is that Duo was slowly but surely pressing him back towards the bed. Suddenly his knees met the edge of the bed and he fell backwards. 

Duo smiled down at the sight of Heero sprawled across the bed, with his mouth slightly open as he panted and his arousal swelling the front of his pants.

Heero sat up when he felt Duo run his hand across his aching groin. He was surprised to find him kneeling on the floor in front of him. "Duo."

Duo smiled up at him. "Please. Let me." There was a hint of uncertainty in Duo's eyes.

Heero suddenly understood. With a slight nod he leaned back and spread his legs apart. Tonight he would let Duo set the pace.

Duo sighed as Heero leaned back and watched him through half lidded eyes. He had been a little worried that Heero would insist on taking over, but tonight Duo wanted to be the one who led. He wanted to show Heero he had learned how to be gentle too.

Reaching up he worked his fingers into the waistband of Heero's pants. With gentle tugs he urged the pants down over Heero's hips and past the swollen proof of his arousal. As soon as he had the pants off and tossed behind him, he ran his hands over Heero's legs, tracing the feel of the powerful muscles beneath.

Heero jumped a little when he felt the press of Duo's mouth against the inside of his thigh. Opening his legs more, he granted Duo access to all of him. 

Duo smiled at the unexpected offering, knowing that Heero was silently giving him permission to do what ever he wanted. Tempting as the offer was, though, he had other things in mind for tonight._ Perhaps some other time._

For the next several minutes, Duo trawled soft kisses across Heero's tight and stomach, purposely avoiding the swollen erection. 

Heero groaned in frustration as Duo once again came so close to his aching arousal, only to dance away at the last moment. He was certain that Duo was trying to drive him mad.

Just when he was sure he was going to lose it completely, he found himself engulfed in the warmth of Duo's mouth. He arched his hips off the bed, groaning his pleasure when Duo took him clear to the root, his soft lips pressed into the flesh of his groin.

Suddenly two firm hands pressed against his hips, pinning him to the bed. He tried to arch his hips again, but Duo was having none of that. He pulled back until only the very tip of Heero's erection was in his mouth. Then he opened his mouth and blew lightly against the tip.

Heero twisted his head as he tried to thrust himself back into the warm moist haven he knew was hovering just above him. "Duo," he moaned.

Duo blew light on him again, smiling at the reaction it brought. Suddenly he leaned forward and took Heero completely into his mouth once more. Relaxing his throat muscles he let the thick hard shaft slide into his throat. Then he began to work the muscles, massaging the end of Heero's erection as his tongue traced swirling patterns around the base. 

Heero gasped as Duo's talented mouth brought him swiftly to the crest. Duo was using every trick he'd ever learned to give Heero the most pleasure he could. Bobbing his head he licked and sucked the entire length, not following any set pattern or giving Heero a chance to do anything more than gasp his name. 

When Duo sensed that Heero had reached his peak, he suddenly plunged his mouth back down as he once again swallowed him to the root. Swallowing hard, he felt Heero's erection jump inside his mouth before a surge of hot fluid was shot down his throat.  Swallowing again and again he coaxed more of the fluid from Heero.

Heero cried out as his climax swept over him, thrusting himself deeper into the tight passage that surrounded him. Forgetting Duo need to breath, he pressed his hand hard against the back of Duo's head, holding him tight against his groin as shot after shot of liquid fire exploded from him.

After several minute he opened his eyes to look up into Duo's shining ones. "I'm sorry," he croaked, his lungs laboring to draw in air. 

Duo smiled and shook his head. He knew his throat was going to get him back for the punishment he'd just put it through, but it had been worth it. He could feel Heero's essence as it settled in his belly and was glad that it didn't make him sick, as all the others that had done it to him had.

Slowly he began tracing Heero's form with his hands. He had learned from experience that Heero had great recuperative powers.

Sure enough, within only a few minutes Heero was once again hard and ready. He started to roll over Duo, but Duo pressed his shoulders back into the mattress. He then shifted himself, rising to straddle Heero's body. 

Heero looked up at the beautiful boy above him and suddenly had to blink hard. How could he have gotten so lucky? "Duo?"

Duo smiled down at him. "Just lay back and enjoy the ride," he whispered. With a soft sigh, he pressed himself back against Heero's thick erection, moaning in pleasure as he felt it press into him.

Heero groaned as he felt Duo open to take him in, the tight passage cradling him in its delicious heat.  Suddenly Duo leaned back and Heero found himself completely buried in the heat that was Duo.

Duo moaned again, loving the feeling of being so completely filled by his love. Slowly he drew himself off, almost sobbing at the empty feeling it brought, then plunging back down, letting the thick shaft fill him once more.

Heero ran his hands across Duo's hips as Duo continued to move on his shaft.  Then he ran his hands across Duo's buttocks to the point where his body entered Duo's. He ran his fingers around the area, loving the feel of Duo as he took him deep into himself.

Duo moaned when he felt Heero's fingers exploring the edges of his hole. Hanging his head down, his mouth open as he gasped for breath, he looked between his legs to watch as he took Heero again and again. The sight and feeling of being taken by Heero made him arch his back and cry out. 

He felt Heero's hands once more encircle his hips, urging him on. Gasping for breath he thrust himself franticly on Heero's erection, taking him as deep as he could with every downward motion. 

Suddenly, Heero's hand was grasping as his neglected arousal and it sent him over the edge. With a cry of pure joy he arched his back again as he thrust downward one last time. He heard Heero groan his name and felt his erection spasm within him as Heero reached his own climax.

Duo sobbed as he twisted on Heero's erection, certain he was going to shoot his belly out through his dick. With a low moan he collapsed on Heero, burying his face in Heero's neck as his body continued to jerk with the last his of orgasm. 

Heero pressed a hand to Duo's neck, holding him where he was. With a sigh, he shifted rolling them to their sides, but keeping himself buried in the warmth of Duo's body. 

"Duo."

Duo whimpered slightly and pressed his face tighter against Heero's neck. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you so much."

Heero smiled as he buried his nose in Duo's hair. "I love you, too," he whispered as he let the exhaustion he felt take him.

Duo sighed against his neck as he too slipped into slumber.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Six

By SilverLady

"It didn't work."

"I know."

"I swear he has more lives than a cat."

"Agreed. More drastic measures are going to have to be taken."

"You mean?"

"Yes. See to it."

"Of course."

*****

Trowa sat quietly, watching the still figure in the bed. The doctor had been by earlier and had pronounced it safe to let Quatre sleep as long as he wanted. He had recommended that the boy be kept in bed for a few days, though.

Trowa sighed. The vision of Quatre, standing in the middle of those falling rocks, kept flashing through his mind. He knew that the sight would haunt his dreams for a long time to come. 

"You know you're going to wind up with a sore ass if you continue to sit in that chair."

Trowa jerked around in surprise. He hadn't even heard the door open. "At least it's just my ass that's getting sore," he retorted.

Heero smirked as he stepped into the room. "Meaning?"

Trowa snorted. "Meaning Duo is not silent. I think everyone in the inn now knows just a good a ..... lover you are."

"Just taking advantage of the down time."

"Sounded like up to me." Trowa turned his attention back to the sleeping boy. "I'm surprised he let you out of the room."

Heero grabbed a chair and set it beside Trowa's. "Even Duo needs to take a break now and then."

"Wore him out?"

"He got hungry. For food."

"And you took advantage of that to escape."

"I have no intention of escaping Duo."

"I suppose he is very talented."

"Jealous?"

"Envious. I'm glad you found somebody you can care about. He's good for you. And I don't mean just the sex, either."

Heero smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"And you're good for him as well. I would hate to think of what he would have become without you in his life."

"He would be dead," Heero stated flatly. 

Trowa turned to look at him. "You say that like you're sure."

"I am. One way or the other he would be dead by now." Heero's eyes focused on something far away. "He still has nightmares sometimes about the things they did to him. And those are the times when...."

"When?"

"When I still see pieces of the scared, wild child I bought. It's hard to get close to him then. That's why it's special when he..."

"He wants to make love with you."

Heero shook his head. "When he initiates things. He's not the aggressor very often." Heero paused for a moment. "But it's more than that.  It's when he just simply lets me hold him. He couldn't stand that at first, even after we started having sex.  And I understand why he felt that way. He'd never been touched or held simply for the joy of being close. Everyone he'd ever known was trying to get something from him. Or take something."

"I'd say you two have a lot more things in common than most people would think."

"Probably." Heero glanced over at the bed. "What about him?"

"I don't know. He's like a kaleidoscope. Just when you see the picture it shifts again. Just when I think I've got it all figured out, something shakes it up again." Trowa sighed. "Now I'm not so sure he was behind the attacks. The only one there was any positive proof of him being involved was Wufei, but that could have very well been just a simple accident that we blew way out of proportion because of all the other things that had been happening."

"So you're going to relax the restrictions?"

"I think so. And see what happens." Trowa sighed. "We took this trip to help him feel better about the situation he has been put in. But at the first sign of any thing amiss, I clamped down on him. I was so angry that someone was trying to hurt my friends I jumped way ahead of myself. I shouldn't have reversed things so much. Just keeping a better eye on him and placing a few restrictions on him would have been much better than practically putting him in chains. And I know I should have never forbidden him to even talk with Duo. I think there are the beginnings of a very strong friendship there and I hope I haven't ruined it. I was just so afraid something else would happen to Duo and I know how much you care for him and how devastated you would be if something were to happen and it would be my fault...."

Heero reached out and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'd say you have a bit of baggage you haven't dealt with either."

Trowa looked at him. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not to most. I just know you better."

"Am I doing the right thing?"

"That's for you to decide. I can't be making all your decisions for you."

Trowa sighed again. "Welcome to the real world."

"It sucks at time, don't it?"

"Yes."

"Besides, look at this way. You might have just found someone that will be good for Wufei."

Trowa smiled. "She sure does get to him, don't she?"

"And she don't take any of his shit. It might be just the things for him."

"He'd kill us if he heard us plotting his love life."

"I know." Heero smirked. "But it's fun."

"Just don't let Duo get involved. There's no telling what might happen then."

"True." Heero rose to his feet. "You need to decided what you're going to do."

"And stick with it."

"Yes."

"I can't let him go."

"No."

"And I won't sell him. I shudder to think of what he might wind up with. That's why I bought him in the first place."

"True."

"So I guess I'm just going to have to live with it. He was doing pretty good before I went ballistic."

"Yes."

Trowa frowned. "Or was he. We were expecting a lot from him."

"Sounds like you still haven't found the middle ground yet."

"No. I haven't. I guess I'll just keep looking." Trowa looked suddenly grim. "But if he pulls another stunt like this I'll beat him black and blue."

Heero snorted. "I'll see you later."

Trowa smiled. "Hoping he's recovered."

"Nah, I feel like a good cuddle. Bye."

Trowa shook his head as Heero left. That was certainly not something he'd ever expect to come out of his friend's mouth. 

*****

It was late afternoon before Quatre finally woke up. He lay there for a minute, not wanting to open his eyes. His head hurt something awful and the pounding was making his stomach roll.

He vaguely remembered being awake a couple of time before. Most of the memories were of pain and feeling very sick. In fact he would guess, by the slightly acidic taste in his mouth, that he had been sick a couple of times.

"Quatre."

Quatre scrunched up his face at the sound of that voice. He had been hoping that Trowa would have turned him over to Sal or, even better, some stranger.

"Quatre, please open your eyes."

_No. Go away. _

"I have some soup. The doctor says you need to eat."

Quatre swallowed hard. The thought of anything in his stomach made him feel even sicker. "Not hungry," he croaked out. "Master," he added, belatedly remembering who he was addressing.

Trowa sighed. "You have to eat."

Quatre slowly opened his eyes. The light hurt, but not too bad. Turning his head slightly, he looked at Trowa. "Is that an order, Master?"

Trowa shifted slightly, careful not to disturb the bed. "No. But you'll only get sicker if you don't get something in you. Especially fluids." He studied the boy for a minute. "If I'm careful do you think you could sit up for a few minutes?"

"Why Master?"

"So that you can drink this soup without spilling it down the front of you."

Quatre closed his eyes again. "My head hurts Master."

"There's some medicine in the soup that will help it stop hurting so bad. The doctor said it would be easier for you to take it this way."

Trowa sat on the edge of the bed and carefully lifted Quatre into a sitting position. After placing several more pillows behind Quatre, Trowa gently eased him back.

Quatre moaned as his body protested the move, but he was able to keep his stomach from rebelling. 

He was a little surprised when he felt Trowa slip on arm behind his neck to help support his head as he lifted the mug to Quatre's mouth. "Just a little sip."

After a moment's hesitation, Quatre reluctantly took a sip of the offered soup. Surprisingly, the warm liquid actually felt good as it slide down his throat and settled in his aching belly.

"More?" Trowa asked softly.

Quatre nodded. "Yes. Please."

Trowa smiled as he held the cup back to Quatre's lips. "Take your time. There's no need to rush it."

After what seem like a very long time, Quatre sighed and leaned back against the pillows.

"Enough?" Trowa asked.

Quatre nodded. So far his stomach didn't seem to mind the warm liquid and Quatre hoped it would stay that way.

Trowa carefully brushed the hair that had fallen into Quatre's eyes out of the way. The doctor had said to check Quatre's pupils now and then to make sure everything was okay. Leaning forward, Trowa brushed a finger across Quatre's closed eyes.

Quatre suddenly opened his eyes, startled to find Trowa leaning in awfully close. "Master?" he whispered, blushing as his attention focused on Trowa's mouth. It was awfully close, so much so they were practically touching. _What would it feel like if he actually kissed me?_ He gasped softly, wondering where that thought had come from.

He saw Trowa's eyes grow soft and unfocused as he leaned in closer. _Is he?_ His body began to tremble slightly. Trowa was so close that their breaths seemed to be mingling. To Quatre's shock, his groin tightened and began to ache.

Trowa suddenly jerked away. _What the hell?_ Trowa could feel Quatre trembling in his arms. He was stunned to realize just how close he had come to kissing Quatre. _Am I out of my mind? What just happened?_ He struggled to bring his body back under control. "I... I need to check your eyes."

Quatre blinked. He couldn't understand why being this close to Trowa made him feel this way. _What's wrong with me? He's just checking to make sure I'm okay. I don't why though. It's not as if he really cares. But him being this close makes me feel all hot and funny. Is there something wrong with me?_

"Quatre?"

"I'm sorry, Master." Quatre whispered. "I'm just suddenly very tired."

Trowa nodded. "Get some rest. You need it."

"Yes, Master." Quatre's eyes slide closed and soon he was asleep.

Trowa carefully pulled away and laid Quatre back down on the bed. His body was still tight and achy and his mind was in turmoil. He had been so close to actually kissing Quatre. And if he was honest, his body wanted to do a lot more than just kiss. He'd never felt like this about anyone. _Why now? Why him? What's going on here? You know what would happen, he'd just let you do it because you are his master and must be obeyed. He's not that kind of person. He's so innocent. I won't destroy that too. Get a grip and don't let it happen again. Oh, god, what was I thinking._

Rising swiftly, he headed out into the other room. _Maybe it would be best if I get someone else to take care of him from now on. Besides, even if the situation were better, he'd get one good look at you and run off screaming. Just like..... No, I won't think about that._

Trowa raked a hand through his hair. Things had just gotten even more complicated.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Seven

By SilverLady

The next time Quatre woke up he was surprised to find Duo sitting beside his bed.

Duo grinned when he realized that Quatre was awake and watching him. "Hi. How's it going?"

Quatre stared at him without saying a word.

Duo frowned a little. "Are you okay?"

Nothing.

Suddenly Duo smiled. "Oh, yeah. The no-talking-to-Duo thing. Trowa said it was okay for you to talk with me again."

Quatre simply stared at him.

"He did. I don't lie. He said it was fine with him."

Duo swore he could hear crickets chirping. 

"You don't believe me do you?"

The only way Duo knew that Quatre wasn't some bizarre statue was the fact that every now and then he blinked.

"Man, you're stubborn. You know I would never get you in trouble." Pause. Sigh. "Okay, fine. Don't talk to me. Heero says I can talk the ear of a dead guy when I want to so I guess we'll find out. You just lie there and do your statue impression. I'll talk."

Duo looked at Quatre for a second. The threat didn't seem to have any effect on him. Duo huffed. "Anyway, since I gotta fill in all this quiet, here goes. Heero and Trowa went out to get supplies or somethin', they didn't exactly say. Wufei is off on some rant about this or that." 

Duo grinned as a thought struck him. "You should have seen it yesterday." He laughed. "Sal... You know, I don't really think she's a Sal. More like a Sally. I think that's what I'll call her from now on. I wonder if she'd mind. Not that it would matter to me, anyhow, even if she did, but she seems pretty cool and all. 

"Anyway. Her and Wufei went back to check out that site, to find out if the slidee had been deliberate or not, which it was. Well, when they got back and Sally started telling Heero about it, Wufei got all pouty. And when Heero said you couldn't have done it cause you'd been with us, Wufei said somethin' about you havin' accomplices and Sally got all mad. She said that the only way you coulda had anything to do with it was if you were telepathic, 'cause, and I quote, 'Lord Trowa has had him on such a short leash that he's practically up his ass' end quote. Well, Wufei got all huffy and told her she didn't know what she was talkin' about and she told him she knew enough and he said he didn't have to listen to no stupid woman, or somthin' like that.

"Well, all the sudden he jumps and gets all indignant. Seems Sally had calmly walked up and groped his ass. He didn't know I seen her do it, cause he thought I was asleep and Heero did to. Anyway he started ranting about who he was and started spoutin' off this long title of his and she just calmly laid one on him. Kissed him right good and grabbed his ass again to boot. 

"When she pulled back he just stood there with his mouth hangin' open and she told him he looked like the King of Karp to her and she left. He got a mad and stormed after he, but I think he liked it and all. I though it was the funniest thing and I started laughin' and Heero realized I was awake and I had the greatest view of his crotch, which I always enjoy. But Wufei came back and complained about us havin' a room for that stuff so we went to our room and.... I won't give you alll the details, let's just say it was wonderful, like it always is."

Duo sighed. "Do you know how much I love him? I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. It's great. You should try it out some time. Might do you some good."

He glanced at Quatre. "Or have you and Trowa been enjoying sleeping in the same room." He paused. "Nope, I don't think so. Don't think you could do much without everyone else knowin' about it, 'specially in those tents. But I will say Trowa was actin' kinda jumpy this mornin' and he sure agreed fast with Heero about me stayin' here and watchin' you, which kinda surprised me and all, since I though he was still mad at you, but I guess he ain't, is he?

"I definitely think you got him real confused though. What did you do? Ain't gonna tell, are you? Well, anyway....."

Quatre closed his eyes and listed as Duo continued talking. _He really can get going. And his accent get worse the longer he talks._

*****

Heero frowned as he followed Trowa down the street. The small town didn't have a lot, but there were several shops and business around. 

Trowa had been acting odd all morning. It was obvious to Heero, whom Duo had often accused of being oblivious, that something was bothering him. "What's wrong?" he finally

Trowa glanced back at Heero for a moment. "Nothing," he finally answered.

Heero snorted. "Tell me another one. I'm not as oblivious as Duo thinks I am. Something is bothering you. A lot. Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"So there is something wrong."

Trowa sighed. "You've been hanging out with Duo too long."

"Funny, I though you said he was good for me."

"Not in all cases."

"And you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm as hard to distract as him when he gets something in his head. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing important."  
  
"Does it have anything to do with the fact that I'm with you and Duo is with Quatre?"

"Why would you think that?"

"No reason."

Trowa sighed again. "It's really nothing. Just something I have to sort out for myself."

"Well I hope you do it soon."

"Why?"

"Because we've passed this store three times and you still haven't gone in."

Trowa stopped in the middle of the road and stared back at Heero. He was about to retort when he heard a shout from his right. He turned to find a driverless wagon heading straight for him.

He could only stare at in shock. It was as if his body had suddenly turned to stone.

Just when he was sure the wagon would run him down, he was violently shoved out of the way. He landed heavily on his side, with a solid weight coming down on top of him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Heero's angry voice hissed in his ear. "You could have gotten yourself killed, pulling a stunt like that. And you got angry with Quatre. You damn near did the same thing."

Trowa simply lay there, trying to catch his breath. Part of him knew Heero was right, but the rest of him simply wasn't up to processing that information at that moment.

"Are you okay?"

"Man, did you see that? That horse just bolted. Something sure scared it."

"Are you two men alright?"

"That was quite a move you made there, young man. Saved his life you did."

Slowly voices filtered into Trowa's consciousness. And with the voices came other sensations, pain being the foremost of them. The rocks and dirt he was laying in were starting to dig into his side and he was sure that Heero had bruised a couple of his ribs when he'd hit him. That, coupled with his now pounding head, was sure to remind him that he was still alive.

"Heero," he managed to say, after catching his breath.

"What?"

"Would you please get off of me? Duo might like it, but you're damn heavy."

With a snort, Heero rolled off Trowa and got to his feet.

Trowa rolled over onto his back and stared up into Heero's angry blue eyes. "Thank you."

Heero nodded. "Anytime."

Both knew that there was a lot more meaning to those simple words than either were willing to admit to.

Slowly Trowa sat up, wincing as each muscle protested the movement. When he was finally sitting up, he reached out with one had to grab Heero's. 

Heero bent forward a little to help Trowa to his feet. As Trowa went to stand, Heero saw all the color drain from his face. He was instant moving forward to take as much of Trowa's weight as Trowa would allow. "What's wrong?"

"My leg," Trowa ground out through gritted teeth. "I hurt my damn leg."

"Again?"

"Don't sound like it's an every day thing. It hurts."

"Let's get you back to the inn. You can play invalid with the other one."

"Is that anything like playing doctor?" Trowa muttered under his breath.

Heero smirked. "It could be."

"I don't think so." Trowa tried to take a step and almost passed out from the pain in his leg.

Heero held Trowa upright. "I don't think you're going back there under your own power. Let me see if I can get someone to take us back."

"I can..."

"No. No arguing. The last time I listened to you about you leg, you spent three months in bed. It won't be happening again." Heero glanced over at one of the people that had witnessed the 'accident'. "We need to get him back to the inn, but he's not walking there. Could you please get something for us to take him back in?"

The young man nodded. "Sure thing. Just give me a minute."

"And don't make it the damn horse that nearly ran us down."

"No, sir."

Heero sighed. "I don't think Quatre had anything to do with this one either."  
  
"You don't think it was an accident."

"Do you?"

"Not really, no. Not with what's been going on."

"It just makes things more complicated. Now it's damned near impossible to figure out who the target is."

"Unless it's all of us."

"True. And I only know one person who would like to take all of us down."

"Michal."

"Got it in one." Heero sighed. "Which is what Duo has been insisting all along."

"Yes."

Heero glanced at Trowa. "Don't tell him. I'll never hear the end of it."

Trowa smiled but said nothing.

*****

"What the hell happened to you?" Wufei demanded as Trowa was carefully set on the couch. Heero and the young man that had offered his help had carried Trowa up the stairs and into the room.

Heero glanced at the other man. "Could you please go and get the doctor?"

"Sure, no problem." He turned and quickly left the room.

"Is anyone going to answer me?" Wufei demanded.

"I hurt my leg," Trowa answered, carefully leaning back against the arm of the couch.

"How?"

"Dodge ball?"

"Not funny."

"Horseshoes?"

Heero snorted at that one.

Wufei glared. "I think someone has been around a certain long haired slave who has too many privileges as it is."

"I was stupid enough to stop in front of a moving wagon."

"It wasn't moving until after you stopped," Heero pointed out.

Wufei blinked. "You were nearly hit."

"Nearly being the operative word here."

"I'd say someone just upped the ante on this little game," Heero commented.

Wufei nodded. "And it is beginning to look more and more like we jumped to conclusions. But I still would not rule him out completely. He could be working for someone, who simply hired others to do the same job."

"You're never going to forgive him for knocking you on your butt, are you?"

Wufei crossed his arms, wincing as he did so. "I'm the one with the broken arm."

"So you keep telling us."

"Over and over and over and over," Trowa muttered under his breath. 

"I heard that."

"Good."

"So I guess we can continue to call this place home for awhile."

"No."

Heero glared at Trowa himself. "What?"

"I said no. As soon as the doctor clears Quatre to travel we're moving on. Even if it's just out of town. This is getting serious. Some one other than Heero or me could have gotten hurt today. It's apparent that who ever this is doesn't care about innocent bystanders. There's no telling what he might do next. I won't risk innocent lives."

Heero nodded, hearing the logic in Trowa's words. "Fine. We'll be ready to move as soon as possible."

"I'll tell Sal," Wufei stated, heading for the door.

Heero watched him, a slight smile on his face. _I wonder who will wake up first, Wufei or Trowa._

Trowa glanced over at Heero. "I think it might be a good idea if you go get cleaned up. You look like you've been playing in the dirt."

"Rolling in it is more like it." He glanced over at the door. "I wonder how long it took Duo to drive Quatre nuts with his chatter."

Trowa groaned. He'd forgotten how much Duo hated silence and how far he would go to make some kind of noise. _And I didn't get a chance to tell Quatre it was all right to talk with Duo again._

Heero sighed. "I'd best go save him."

"Duo or Quatre?"

"Hard to say. You stay there."

"Yes sir."

"As long as you don't say master."

Trowa winced. "Don't remind me."

Heero gave him an odd look before disappearing into the other room.

"Three, two, one."

"HEERO! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

Trowa sighed as he leaned back. _I wonder what's next._


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Eight

By SilverLady

Quatre sighed as he stared out the window. He had been so bored with just laying in bed that he had decided to get up for awhile, an action that he had quickly regretted. He had barely made it to the chair next to the window, his head hurting so badly it made it hard to see. He knew it would be a while before he could make it back to the bed.

He knew that Trowa wouldn't be in to fuss at him though. He had heard about the incident with the wagon when Duo had started in on Heero about the state in which he had returned.

He wasn't really sure how he felt about it. Maybe now they would be convinced that he hadn't had anything to do with the earlier incidents. He was glad that Trowa hadn't been seriously injured and yet... His emotions were in turmoil and he didn't know quite what to do.

The incident earlier had served only to confuse him more. He knew, somehow, that Trowa had been about to kiss him. What confused him, though, was the way he felt about it. A part of him wanted it very much but another part of him wasn't as sure. He'd always been taught that it was wrong for a man to lay with another man. That only bad things could come of such an unnatural relationship. 

Yet, by watching Heero and Duo together, he was beginning to see that maybe that opinion was unfair. That whoever had come up with the notion had not seen all the sides of the issue. He had seen nothing but gentleness and love between the two, nothing unnatural about that. In fact, their relationship seemed better and more stable than many of the supposedly natural male/female relationships that Quatre knew of.

And now he was beginning to find himself attracted to a man himself. And not just any man, but the man who had bought him and now claimed ownership of him, as if he was nothing more than an animal to be possessed. That made things all the more confusing. How could he be interested in such a person? Someone who callously owned others as if it was nothing. A person who could allow himself to possess other humans as if they were stupid fools incapable of taking care of themselves. And to expect them to obey him blindly, without question. 

Was he strange and unnatural himself? Did that explain why he had never responded to Carlia's advances? Why the thought of laying with her, or anyone else for that matter, had left him with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach?

He moaned softly and leaned his head back. He was so very confused. He didn't know which way to turn or anyone he could talk to. Duo would be no help in this; it was painfully obvious which way his feelings lay. 

And what about Trowa himself? Was all of his pondering for nothing? Did Trowa simply think that, as his property, Quatre's body was free for the taking? That he could be used to relieve an itch that hadn't been scratched in a long time? 

What would he do if Trowa did actually try and do something more than had already happened? Did he want something more to happen? And for that matter, exactly what was that something more? Angil had described sex to him and he'd seen Duo and Heero doing it, but he himself had never experienced it. Was it anything like the odd dreams that had woken him from time to time since he had reached his thirteenth year? The ones that had found him lying in his bed, hot and trembling, with an ache deep in his groin that took so very long to go away. He had never remembered the exact details of any of those dreams; they had mostly been vague feelings and blurred images.

_Please, Great One, show me the way. Give me a sign. Tell me, what am I supposed to do? Is it wrong in Your eyes to desire, and even to love, another man. Am I going against everything You stand for? Am I dishonoring You and my family with these thoughts? Should I see where this course will lead me or am I deluding myself with feelings that don't really exist?_

*****

Trowa winced as he shifted his weight, trying his best to keep his leg as still as possible. The doctor had told him that he had overextended the muscles in his leg and that he would have to stay off of it for at least a few days. He had also informed Trowa that there was no way they could leave for a least a couple of more days. Quatre simply wasn't healed enough to make travel a wise idea, yet.

Trowa frowned as he thought about the blonde haired slave. When it came to Quatre, Trowa found his feelings disturbingly turbulent. One minute he wanted to throttle the infuriating boy and the next he wanted to kiss him silly.

It was the second emotion that bothered him the most, though. What had happened to find him suddenly very interested in wanting to take Quatre to bed and screw him senseless? And was it just runaway hormones or was there something more? Did he want to simply have mind-blowing sex with the boy or was he interested in something deeper and more meaningful?

The only time he'd tried to go beyond friendship with another person had ended in disaster and Trowa had sworn he would never open himself up like that again. Now, one beautiful Southlander was blowing his quietly ordered world to pieces and he didn't even know it.

When he had thought that Quatre had been behind the attacks on the others he had been hurt as much as angered. To think that the person he was becoming interested in was trying to kill his friends had hurt him deeply. Maybe that's why he had responded so badly to the situation. Instead of calmly and rationally thinking things out, he had simply reacted, something he rarely did. No one had ever gotten such a reaction from him before. 

The incident the day before had only made already muddy waters even muddier. He had been so close to kissing Quatre. And he knew that it wouldn't have stopped there. That he had been very close to taking Quatre, willing or not. Only his fear of how Quatre would react to the situation, and to Trowa himself, had stopped him from going through with it. 

He still cringed about some of the thoughts that had been running through his head in the past two weeks about his blonde slave.  He knew that Quatre was completely innocent in all things sexual and yet he had considered having Quatre taught in the sexual arts. A move that most likely would have destroyed any remaining loyalty that Quatre might still have towards him. Plus pissing off the young man still known as Shinigami, the one person Trowa knew he did not want as an enemy.  

But it didn't calm the dreams that were coming much more frequently of late. The ones that starred a very beautiful very gentle young man. The ones that were often hot and steamy and yet were as often gentle and tender.

Could he continue to have Quatre in his possession for the five years that law dictated Quatre must remain a slave and not let something happen? Did he want nothing to happen between them? Or was fate finally giving him something nice? Was Quatre meant to be the soulmate he had always longed to have? The one person that would love him unconditionally, as even his own father had been unable to do. Or was he seeing emotions that weren't really there? 

And could he bear to open his heart and find out Quatre wasn't interested? Had Quatre reacted the way he had because he was interested or because he didn't know what was happening and was afraid of what Trowa's reaction might be if he didn't go along?

Trowa sighed as he leaned his head back against the pillows. _I don't know what to do. Should I pursue this or should I just forget it? I don't want to pressure Quatre into something he doesn't want. Maybe I should just forget about it. It's probably nothing more than a passing whim, anyhow. The thrill of being in control of someone. Stupid as that sounds. Besides, I doubt if Quatre would appreciate a scarred, bitter cripple for his first lover. And you know what stock those Southerners hold in being pure on their wedding day. You don't want to ruin his future, by stealing something that should be given to the one he loves and marries. Because I know that the moment I can set him free, I will. He should be free, not chained. _

Trowa nodded_. I'll just pretend nothing happened. It would be for the best._


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Additional Warning: Lemon in this part.

Golden Lights Part Twenty-Nine

By SilverLady

Quatre looked up with a bewildered look in his eyes as Trowa stepped into the room. It was awfully late at night for him to be here. "Master?"

Trowa stood just inside the doorway for a long moment, simply staring at Quatre. 

Quatre rose slowly to his feet and started towards Trowa. "Is there something wrong, Master?"

Suddenly Trowa moved, crossing the room to stand in front of Quatre. Reaching out he laid his hand across Quatre's mouth. "Trowa," he whispered softly. "Can you say that? My name is Trowa."

Quatre stared at him, his eyes reflecting the confusion he was feeling.

"Trowa," Trowa said again. "Say it after me. Trowa."

"Trowa," Quatre whispered against Trowa's hand.

Trowa smiled down at Quatre as he pulled his hand away, tracing Quatre's mouth with his fingers. "Very good."

Quatre sighed, his breath floating around Trowa's fingers. "Is there something you need, Ma.... Trowa?"

Trowa trailed a finger across Quatre's cheek. "You," he finally breathed.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I want you. Underneath me, screaming my name as you come."

"But....."

"I can't fight this anymore. Don't you feel it too?"

Quatre looked down. "Yes."

"Quatre?"

Quatre looked back up. Before he could say anything though, he found his mouth covered by Trowa's. Stiffening slightly, he put his hands up on Trowa's shoulders.

Trowa groaned as he slide his arms around Quatre's waist, running his hands up and down Quatre's back. He felt the bit of resistance from Quatre, but as the kiss deepened Quatre relaxed and molded his body to Trowa's.

With a contented moan, Trowa grabbed Quatre's butt; lifting him up so that their groins ground together, causing both to shudder as electric bolts of pleasure shot through their bodies.

Finally, his head spinning with more than just passion, Trowa moved his head back and let Quatre slide down his body until his feet once again touched the floor. Slowly he slide one hand up underneath Quatre's shirt, enjoying the feel of soft skin and toned muscles.

Quatre moaned and arched his back, silently begging for Trowa to continue.

But Trowa could see the hint of confusion reflected in Quatre's eyes and with a sigh he withdrew his hand.

Reaching up he gently ran his fingers through Quatre's soft blonde hair. "You are so beautiful, Little One," he whispered. "I want you, but not against your will. You have to want this too. I'm not forcing you. You are free to say no if you want. In this there is no slave nor master, it's just us."

Quatre looked up at Trowa, pressing his body as closely as he could. "Trowa," he finally whispered.

"Yes, Little One?"

Quatre stretched up on tiptoe to reach Trowa's mouth. "You talk too much," he murmured before pressing his lips to Trowa's.

For long minutes the two did nothing but explore each other's mouths, learning every centimeter of the warm moist caverns they explored and what touches made their partner moan with pleasure.

Finally, reluctantly, the two drew apart. As Trowa looked down into Quatre's eyes, he slide his hands across his shoulders to the parting of Quatre's shirt. Gently he slide each button free revealing inch by delicious inch of Quatre's chest and stomach.

Quatre moaned and arched his back, unconsciously displaying himself for Trowa's pleasure.

Trowa traced a finger up Quatre's tight stomach, delighting in the delicate shivers the touch invoked. Watching Quatre to insure that he enjoyed each new sensation and to be sure that this was indeed what he wanted, Trowa gently circled each delicate nipple, smiling as they became swollen and red.

  
"Trowa, what?" Quatre moaned. 

"You'll like this even better." Tilting his head, Trowa reached down to run his tongue in a slow circle around Quatre's left nipple. After teasing it for a few minutes, he gently took it in his mouth, sucking and nibbling at the hard nub.

Quatre groaned and buried his hand in Trowa's hair, his knees buckling at the intense feelings that course through him. "Ohhh," he moaned, pressing Trowa's head against his chest. "Don't stop."

Trowa reached out to grab Quatre and hold him upright. Pulling away slightly he looked into the deep blue eyes. "Let's move this to the bed," he whispered. "It will be much better."

Quatre was panting, his chest rising and falling as he struggled to calm his body. "Yes," he finally managed to say.

He gave a startled little squeak when Trowa lifted him up and carried him to the bed. Gently, Trowa laid him down, admiring the slender form. He had never seen such a beautiful site. He traced the lithe body with his eyes, making note of passion fogged eyes, swollen lips, delicate nipples, tight trembling stomach muscles, and the swell of arousal hidden by pants that had grown too tight for comfort.

Trowa reached out to slidee a finger under the waistband of Quatre's pants. "You'd be much more comfortable without these clothes."

Quatre nodded as he sat up and slide his shirt the rest of the way off. He reached for the pants, but Trowa stopped him. "Let me."

Quatre blinked, but laid back on the bed and lifted his hips in a silent invitation.  Trowa closed his eyes for minute then slow slide the soft material down Quatre's hips. He bit back an appreciative groan as, inch by inch, Quatre's body was revealed to him.

Finally the pants were thrown across the room and Trowa looked down at the trembling boy on the bed. Reaching out, he slowly ran his hand across Quatre's swollen manhood, admiring each ridge and hollow. "You are so lovely," he whispered, knowing he was repeating himself but not caring. Slowly he leaned over until his mouth hovered above the swollen flesh.

"Trowa?" There was uncertainty in the trembling voice.

"It's all right. Just relax and enjoy. I will make you feel so good."

Quatre cried out and arched his hips as Trowa enveloped his arousal with his mouth. Frantic fingers grasped at dark hair as Quatre thrust, driving himself deeper into the moist cavern that surrounded him.

Trowa relaxed his throat, letting Quatre drive his thick shaft into his mouth over and over. He could sense that Quatre was close to exploding and that it would quickly be over. It was happening much faster than he would have liked, but he had the feeling that this was the first time Quatre had ever reached any kind of climax that wasn't dream induced. 

With a strangled cry, Quatre exploded deep into Trowa's mouth, his back and hips coming off the bed with the force of his climax. Twisting his head, Quatre sobbed as his body convulsed,  feeling as if liquid fire was spilling from him into Trowa's waiting mouth.

Trowa swallowed convulsively, tasting the slightly bitter fluid that was exploding from Quatre. He had never thought anything could taste so good. 

When Quatre finally collapsed back onto the bed, he continued to lap at the tip of Quatre's cock, collecting the last drops that oozed out.

After a moment, he slide up Quatre's body to look down into dazed eyes. "Wonderful," he whispered.

"What?" Quatre blinked in confusion. "That was...."

"Intense?"

Quatre nodded.

"That was the first time you've ever come, isn't it?"

Again Quatre nodded.

"Did you enjoy it?"

Quatre blushed, but nodded yet again.

"It gets even better."

Quatre blinked again. "It does?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Do you want me to show you?"

"Yes."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." He paused. "Why?"

"Because what I want to do to you is very..... intimate. I'm going to put my cock inside you."

"How?"  
  


"Like Michal did with his fingers."

A strange look crossed Quatre's face. "It will hurt," he whispered.

Trowa sensed Quatre's rising fear. "No, not if it's done right. Michal didn't care if he hurt you. I do. I wouldn't hurt you for anything. Believe me."

"I...."

"I'll go slow. If it hurts, or if you don't like it, I'll stop. I give you my word."

Quatre looked at Trowa for a minute. "All right." He blushed again.

Trowa smiled as he brushed his hand across Quatre's cheek. "Just enjoy."

Slowly he explored Quatre's body with his hands, careful not to startle the blonde.  When he was finally sure that Quatre was all right with what he was doing he slide his hand between Quatre's thighs, gently parting them. 

"Trowa?"

"Just relax. I'm going to touch you with my finger. It will hurt for just a moment, but if you relax it will be fine."

Gently he traced the tight opening with his finger, praying that Quatre was thinking of what was happening to him now, not what had happened to him in the garden. He didn't want to scare the boy, but his body ached to possess him. He didn't know what he'd do if Quatre couldn't go through with this.

Quatre groaned as the first finger slide into him. For a moment, his body went still, but then he let out on odd sound and shoved with his hips, forcing the finger deeper.

Trowa lightly stroked Quatre's passage, moving his finger in slow careful circles even as he withdrew and thrust into the tight opening. When he felt the muscles begin to relax, he added a second and then a third finger.

After a few minutes Quatre was moaning and pushing back with his hips. "Please," he whispered.

"What?"

"Inside me."

"Tell me what you want."

"You. Inside me. Take me. Please."

"Are you sure?"

"Yessss," Quatre moaned as Trowa touched something deep within him. "Now."

Trowa rolled over, placing himself between Quatre's wide spread legs. "I don't want to hurt you."

Quatre looked up at him. "Not. Nothing like him. Please. I want you."

Trowa placed his aching erection against Quatre's hidden entrance. "Tell me if it hurts." Slowly he eased himself forward, trying not to rush even though his body screamed for him to just sink himself hard and fast into the body beneath him.

Quatre moaned as Trowa slowly filled him. "So good," he panted when Trowa was fully inside him.

Trowa stilled himself, resisting the urge to simple start thrusting. Quatre was so tight around him, like a glove made just to fit him. Never had he felt anything so good. He looked down into the glowing blue eyes of his new lover and smiled. "So right," he replied.

Quatre nodded as he wrapped his legs around Trowa's hips. Both moaned at the feelings that raced through them at that moment. "Now. Do it now," Quatre begged, his breath coming in quick little pants.

But Trowa remained still, waiting, not wanting to cause Quatre any pain. Finally he felt Quatre relax as his body adjusted completely to the thick invader. Ever so smoothly, Trowa began to pull back, easing himself out of the tight heat until only the tip of his erection remained within.

Quatre cried out as the feeling of emptiness over came him. "No," he cried, pulling hard at Trowa with his hands and legs even as he thrust upward with his hips.

Trowa groaned as he allowed himself to be pulled back into the warm depths. Again and again the two repeated the motion, their thrusts growing harder and faster as they raced toward the peak.

Trowa felt the sweat roll off his body as Quatre dug into his back with his hands. "Oh, god," he moaned, thrusting almost franticly into the body beneath him. "So good. So tight."

Quatre screamed his name as he arched upward one last time. Trowa felt Quatre's inner muscles tighten as completion took him. With a shuddering groan, Trowa buried himself one last time. "Quatre. I....."

*****

With a gasp Trowa sat upright in the bed. His clothes clung to his sweat soaked body, which was trembling violently and his chest heaved as he struggled to regain his breath. 

Drawing in a deep, shuddering breath he tried to calm himself.  He slowly looked around, almost afraid at what he would find. But there was no one in the room but him.

He sighed in relief when he realized he was alone. _A dream.__ It was all just a dream. _

Slowly, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose to his feet. He limped cautiously over to the window and stared into the dark. He knew that there would be no more sleep for him tonight; he didn't want to risk another dream.

 His body throbbed with an almost unbearable ache, letting him know how it felt at being denied.


	31. Chapter Thirty

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty

By SilverLady

"You're up awfully early," Heero commented as he walked into the room.

Trowa barely glanced up. "I could say the same thing about you." He paused. "Or maybe not, since you're in here and not in there."

"Or in him?"

"Precisely."

Heero shook his head as he moved across the room. "I won't ask who pissed in your porridge."

"You know I hate the damn stuff."

"Then maybe that's the problem. You need some."

Trowa sighed. "I'm not even going to try and figure out this conversation."

"Good. It would hurt." Heero calm scooped a large portion of the still hot porridge into a bowl, then added enough sugar to make Trowa cringe.

"I still can't believe what a sweet tooth you have."

Heero smirked, but said nothing. "So, what's going on?"

"Not much. We're ready to move out as soon as the doctor clears Quatre. Other than that, there isn't much we can do."

"Someone tried to run you down yesterday."

"And if they're smart, they've already left."

"To what do we owe the honor of this early morning visit?" Wufei's voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent of sarcasm in it.

Heero glanced over at him. "Exhaustion."

"Not yours, I would think."

"No."

Wufei nodded. "Breakfast is here?"

Trowa pointed to the low table on the other side of the room. "Just delivered."

Wufei moved across the room. "At least this place has decent room service."

Trowa looked at Heero and arched his eyebrow. Heero just shrugged.

"So what is going on?"

"Nothing. We wait. Until Quatre is cleared to travel, we're going to have to stay here."

"With a killer still on the loose?"

"There isn't much we can do here. I don't want to risk anyone needlessly."

"A wise thought."

"So, from now on, no one leaves without someone with them. I've already informed Sal."

"Sally," Heero interrupted.

Trowa looked at him. "What?"

"Duo's started calling her Sally, which she said was fine with her. So I guess I've just started to think of her that way. It's much less.... manly than Sal."

Wufei snorted his opinion. "Trust Duo to change someone else's name."

Heero shrugged. "Be glad he keeps the nicknames he comes up with to himself. Some of them are not repeatable in mixed company."

"They're probably not repeatable, period." Wufei glanced down at his plate. "Why does he have such a perchance for name, anyway?"

"When you don't even know your own, you have a tendency to notice others."

Wufei blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Duo Maxwell is not the name he was born with. He doesn't know that name. He was given the name when he was taken by the slave trader when he was around four or five."

Wufei was silent for a moment. "I did not know that."

"It's another one of those things he doesn't talk about."

"Actually, Duo may talk a great deal, but he rarely says anything."

"I believe it more for noise than anything. Duo has a thing about silence. Though, when I first got him, he talked very little. But that was fear more than anything. He didn't know how I would react if he talked, so it was safer to say nothing at all."

Wufei blinked, finding it hard to believe Duo being silent. Even when he was asleep he made noise. "He was that badly treated."

A deep anger suddenly flared in Heero's eyes. "It was just too bad that his previous owner was already dead." The flat way in which the statement was spoken told Wufei that Heero would very much liked to have been the one to kill the man. It would not have been fast or painless, of that he had no doubt.

"You just have to hope there is truly justice in the afterworld."

Trowa smiled to himself. Duo had once commented that he thought Wufei had to say the word 'justice' so many times in the course of the day or something terrible would befall him. Sometimes Trowa wondered if he was right.

Wufei looked at Trowa. "So we are just going to sit here?"

"You might and I might, but I doubt if Heero will."

Heero glared at Trowa, but said nothing.

"That may disturb the other guests more than any attempt to hurt any of us."

"At least they wouldn't be listening to you rant about something," Heero muttered under his breath.

"So what is going to happen once we able to leave this place?"

Trowa looked at him curiously. "Meaning?"

"What about Quatre? What do we do about him?"

"The restrictions have been lifted. I'm now nearly certain that Quatre had nothing to do with any of the attacks."

"He has never been the target."

"Those rocks nearly killed him."

"Bad timing. That slidee was meant to take everyone out. If he had not had to dismount at that time he would have easily gotten away. And in the confusion he could have gotten completely away."

Trowa straightened angrily. "He has had many opportunities to escape and hasn't. Besides, who's to say he hasn't been attacked. What about the pond?"

"He got too close and fell. The bank there was slippery."

"No one that scared of the water would have gotten near enough to slip."

"Duo saw no one."

"He wasn't looking. He was a good distance from the bank."

"It could have set up....."

"No more. Unless you find Quatre with a bloody knife in one hand and a body at his feet, I will not hear any more accusations. He is innocent. That is final. I will no longer allow anyone to accuse him of anything without solid, positive proof. Clear?"

Wufei blinked, but nodded slowly. Then he glanced at Heero. "Get out on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Wrong bed."

Wufei nearly choked on his breakfast.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty-One

By SilverLady

Quatre balanced precariously on one foot as he tried to get his pants on. He was still a little dizzy, but it was bearable now. It just made maneuvers like getting dressed tricky.

Suddenly the door opened, startling Quatre and causing him to loose he balance. He gave a little cry as he braced himself for the pain of his body coming in hard contact with the floor.

But it didn't happen. He found himself being held upright by who ever had opened the door. Looking cautiously up, he found himself staring into a pair of emerald green eyes. _I don't think I've ever seen both eyes._

He blinked when he realized Trowa's mouth was moving. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were okay. You shouldn't be out of bed just yet."

Quatre suddenly blushed. Something about the statement, and the fact that he was in Trowa's arms with very little clothing on made him very embarrassed.

Extracting himself from Trowa's embrace he leaned over to pick up his pants, which he had dropped. Trying not to reveal any more of his body than he already had, he moved across the room and sat down in the chair near the window. "I am fine, Master. You just startled me. The doctor says that as long as I am careful everything will be fine."

Trowa inwardly winced at the formal tone in which Quatre spoke. He was also a little disappointed that the blonde was quickly covering up his lovely body. He still didn't understand why Quatre was so ashamed of his figure. His skin was smooth and flawless, quite a sight to behold. Plus, he was loosing the last vestiges of baby fat and was beginning to gain the muscle definition that came with maturity.  All of that, combined with his unusual coloring, made him a very beautiful sight indeed. Unlike Trowa's own scarred form.

"Since the doctor did say it was now all right for you to travel, we are planning to leave in the morning."

"As you wish, Master."

"Quatre."

"Yes, Master."

"I'm changing my orders. It's all right for you to talk to Duo or whomever you wish. Plus, I don't expect you to hover behind me constantly. Sal will continue to be in charge of the camp, but you can assist her in any way she wants."

Quatre blinked in surprise. "Why, Master?"

"There has been some things that have been brought to my attention that have made me realize I was much to hasty in accusing you of committing the attacks against the others. I apologize for that. I no longer believe that is the case. In fact, I would appreciate you input into who you think might be behind the attacks and why."

Quatre ducked his head and stared at his feet. Was what had happened the other day part of the reason for Trowa's change in attitude? "I.... I haven't really thought about it, Master. I would not presume to understand such things."

Trowa frowned slightly. "Quatre. I will not tolerate you playing the stupid fool. I expect you to be who you are. Is that understood?"

Quatre looked up in surprise. "Yes, Master."

"Good. We will be eating in the dining hall in an hour. Please be ready."

"Yes, Master."

Trowa looked at him for a minute longer before turning on his heel and limping from the room.

Quatre shoulders sagged as soon as Trowa was gone. _He is so confusing. I really don't know how to behave around him anymore._

*****

Later Quatre could never be certain what had roused him from a sound sleep. All he knew was that one-minute he was asleep, the next wide-awake.

Sitting up he scanned the room. Nothing seemed out of place and yet.... 

Moving quietly, Quatre slipped from the bed and made his way over to the door. Opening it just a bit, he peered into the other room. Nothing. 

He sighed. _My imagination must be playing tricks on me. I could have sworn...._

Just then an odd odor reached him. Wrinkling his nose in distaste, he frowned. There was something distinctly familiar about the smell. 

Suddenly he realized what it was. It was a strange chemical that the Midori used for starting their campfires. He had smelt it one time when his father had taken him with him to visit with the head of the tribe, a man that his father was good friends with.

Moving quickly but silently he headed out into the hall, trying to find the source of the smell. There was no smell of smoke, so whatever fire the chemical was meant to start hadn't happened. Yet.

Just as he came around the corner, he spotted a flicker of movement ahead of him. It appeared to be coming from the direction of Duo and Heero's room. Breaking into a run, Quatre headed down the hall, hoping to grab the person before he could get away.

He was barely halfway down the hall when there was a flash of light and the door to Duo and Heero's room erupted in flames. "No!" he shouted.

The figure looked up in surprise at Quatre's shout and, in the light of the fire, Quatre was able to get a look the person. The face was that of a female, with pale skin and nearly black hair. Glaring angrily at Quatre, she jumped to her feet and bolted down the hall.

Quatre was torn between chasing the woman and doing something about the fire. But his indecision only lasted a minute. The woman would have to wait for another time, his friends were more important.

As he raced down the hall he remembered that there was a bath across the hall from the room. Hopefully the last person to use it had been to lazy to dispose of the water.

Shoving the door open he heaved a sigh of relief to find the old wooden tub nearly full of water. Grabbing a bucket he scooped up as much water as he could and went back into the hall.

The door of the room was now totally engulfed in flames and a thick smoke was beginning to billow down the hall.

"Help!" Quatre shouted. "Fire!" Even as he shouted, he flung the water onto the door.

He couldn't hear any sound coming from the other side of the door and he reverently prayed that Duo and Heero were awake and had already managed to escape. He dreaded the thought that the fire had been set to quickly dispose of a couple of bodies.

Shoving that thought from his head, he returned to the bath to get more water. Though he knew that his pitiful amount of water would do little, he was determined to do what he could.

He barely heard the shouts from the other people in the inn as they realized there was a fire. There were sounds of slamming doors and running footsteps as people quickly escaped.

Suddenly Quatre felt a hand on his shoulder. "Quatre." Trowa spoke firmly, trying to catch the frantic blondes attention. He had been calling the boy's name from the moment he had rounded the corner and realized who was struggling to fight the fire. But Quatre was so focused on what he was doing he hadn't heard him.

Quatre tried to escape the tight grip. There was still some water left. He couldn't stop now. He had to save Duo and Heero.

"Quatre, come on. We have to get out."

Quatre shook his head, blinking back the tears the smoke was bringing to his eyes. Every breath burned his lungs, but he ignored it. "No," he gasped out, his voice raw. "Have to stop it."

"I'm sorry Quatre. I have to do this."

Suddenly, there was a strange stabbing sensation in Quatre's neck and the blackness rose up to engulf him. "Duo. Heero," he managed to croak out as he sank into Trowa's arms.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty-Two

By SilverLady

Motion was what finally brought Quatre back to the world of consciousness. That and the warm feeling of a pair of arms holding him.

Slowly he opened his eyes, to find himself looking at the back of a horse's neck. "What?" he whispered, his throat raw and aching. 

"It's okay," Trowa's voice came from above him. 

Quatre blinked. Why was Trowa holding him and why was he apparently on a horse? Then memories of what had happened flashed through his head and Quatre stiffened. "Duo. Heero. I have to...."

Trowa tightened his hold on the boy. "Shhh. Don't move around. You'll fall off."

"But..."

"I decided that staying in town was no longer an option. A lot of people could have been hurt tonight and a man almost lost his livelihood. If you hadn't given the alarm, the entire inn would have burned down."

"I didn't...."

"I know. Someone reported seeing a person running from the inn just before the alarm was given."

Quatre remembered the figure that had looked at him just before the door had erupted into flame. "Duo? Heero? Are they?"

"We're fine." The voice was familiar and yet sounded raw, as if talking hurt. 

Quatre turned to find Heero riding on the horse next to them. Duo was riding behind Heero, his arms wrapped tightly around Heero's waist. It appeared that he was sleeping.

"Duo heard a noise and woke me up. Just as I went to find out what it was, the door burst into flames. We managed to get out through the window."

"Duo?"

"He hurt his ankle, but otherwise he's fine."

"I saw a woman. She set the fire."

"I would like to know how a fire could get going that fast." The voice was Wufei's. He was apparently riding on the other side of Trowa, but Quatre couldn't turn to see him.

"Helmin. It's a chemical used by the Midori. They soak pieces of wood in it and then use them to start their campfires. It burns really hot and will catch anything on fire, even wet or new wood."

"And how do you know about that?"

"My father was a friend of the head of the Midori tribe. We went to visit him several times. I recognized the smell."

He felt Trowa gently rub his hand across his shoulder. "Enough for now. You sound like your throat hurts. We can talk more later."

"But."

Jus then Quatre heard the sound of a horse approaching. "I found a site not to far ahead that would be a good place to set up camp," Sal told them as she rode up. "It's about a half hour's slow ride ahead."

Quatre felt Trowa nod. "Take Wufei and the pack horses and go on ahead. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Right."

Though Quatre heard Wufei grumble something under his breath, he could tell that he followed Sal when she left.

*****

"You sure you're all right?" Duo asked, looking over at Quatre. The two boys had been set down out of the way and told not to move.

"I'm fine. My throat's a little sore, is all."

"Yeah, you kinda sound like Heero. He said he swallowed some smoke when he was getting out. Though how come he's over there, helpin', and I'm stuck over here lookin' stupid is beyond me."

"Can you stand?"

Duo glared at Quatre. "Don't be logical."

Quatre smiled weakly. "Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay."

"So am I. About you too. Trowa said he found you tryin' to put out that fire all by yourself, with this itty bitty bucket."

"He didn't say that."

"Well, not exactly, but close enough." Duo paused. "How come you didn't just get the hell out of there?"

"I didn't know if you and Heero were still in the room or not. I couldn't leave you there."

Duo was quiet for a minute. "Thanks."

"I saw someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know. A woman. She set the door on fire." Quatre sighed.  "I was afraid...."

Duo reached over and laid his hand on Quatre's shoulder. "It takes more than a little fire to take out Shinigami."

Quatre smiled. "But he's lousy at jumping out windows."

Duo winced. "Yeah, well... It's like... You see..."

"I understand."

"I'm sure glad you do." Duo sighed. "I sure hope they don't try and blame you for this."

"Trowa said someone else saw the woman running away from the inn."

"Good."

"So now what are we going to do?"  
  


"Guess we're gonna have to catch this stupid bitch and find out why she's tryin' to kill us."

_I have a feeling that is going to be easier said than done._


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty-Three

By SilverLady

Trowa sat quietly, watching Heero as he fussed over Duo. Of course, from the loud protests Duo was making, it didn't sound like the braided boy felt Heero was doing any fussing at all.

"Damn it, Heero, don't wrap the damn thing so tight. You're going to cut all the circulation to my foot off. Oww. That hurt."

Heero calmly finished wrapping the bandage around Duo's injured ankle. "Then next time you'll land better."

Duo glared, crossing his arms across his chest and pouting. "See who sleeps alone tonight."

"You," Heero calmly pointed out, rising to his feet. "Now sit there and rest." Giving Duo a pointed look, Heero turned and walked over to where Trowa was sitting.

"It's a good thing I wasn't planning on watching any wildlife," Trowa commented as Heero sat down beside him. "I think he scared it all away."

Heero smirked. "Probably," he replied. There were times when he was amazed at just how loud Duo could be. But the noise didn't bother him. It was the times when Duo was silent that bothered him. Those were the times when he knew Duo was lost in his memories, memories he'd rather not have his long haired lover remember. He often wished there was some way to make the bad things go away, for good. But they were a part of what made Duo what he was and without them, there was no telling what Duo would become.

"Actually, if you could find Wufei and Sally, we need to talk," Trowa said softly. 

Heero nodded. "I think they went down to the river. I'll get them." With the swift silence that was Heero's way, he was on his feet and disappearing into the woods.

"Where's he going?" Duo called out.

Trowa rose to his feet and crossed the campsite to where Duo was sitting on a log. "I asked him to go and get Wufei and Sally. We need to have a meeting."

Duo glanced at the tent. "You going to wake him up?"

Trowa sighed. He'd really rather let the blonde sleep, but... "Yes."

Duo nodded. He was glad that the others had apparently come to their senses, finally. 

***

"What do you want?" Wufei asked as he walked into camp. He looked disgruntled about something. Sally was following behind, a slight grin on her face

Trowa indicted that he wanted them to sit down. "We need to talk."

Wufei nodded and took a seat, glancing around. Duo was sitting on the log he'd been left on earlier, his injured leg stretched out in front of him.  Quatre was sitting on the ground, propped up against the log and blinking sleepily at everyone.

Heero walked over and sat down at Duo's feet. "About?"

"What happened tonight and what we are going to do about it." Trowa sighed a little as he, too, sat down. He glanced around the group. "Who ever is after us upped the ante tonight. A lot more people were threatened tonight."

"And we're still not completely certain which one of us they are after, " Duo commented.

"I think it's whoever they get lucky enough to get," Quatre whispered quietly.

Trowa glanced at the blonde and nodded. "I agree. I don't think there is one set target. Not really. But at least now we have an idea what the person looks like."

"I didn't get that good a look. Just dark hair and a woman's face." Quatre was looking at the ground as he spoke.

"Do you think you would know her if you saw her again?"

"I think so."

"Then it's more than we had before."

"But what are we going to do?" Duo asked. "Just knowing what she looks like isn't enough. Especially since she proved she's not adverse to taking out a few innocent bystanders in the process."

"I'd guess that her orders are probably to make sure one of you, or all of you, doesn't return from this trip," Sally spoke up. "So if it looks like you're going to head home, she's going to make another move."

"So you're saying we should turn around and head back?" Wufei demanded.

Sally shook her head. "The port town of Marinia is about three days east of here. It would be faster to head there and catch a ship back. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't try something there."

"But that is putting a lot of people at risk. Marinia is also a big vacation area," Trowa pointed out.

"With a very big Guard presence. She wasn't really risking much last night by burning the inn. But that kind of a stunt won't work in Marinia."

Heero nodded. "She'll either have to go back to being subtle or...."

"Follow you on the ship and do something on the trip back, which would actually be less of a risk to her. She could make it look like and accident and there wouldn't be anyone to investigate what really happened."

"Especially since anything would be reported at the port of destination."

"And if Michal is really behind it, nothin' would be investigated," Duo finished. "And if she knows that Quatre actually saw her, she'll probably figure that none of the rest of us listened, figurin' he made it up or somethin'." 

Trowa was quiet for a moment. He really didn't want to go into a big city and possibly risk even more people, but the logic of the argument was sound. Trying to kill them in Marinia and possibly hurting other people in the process would make the woman a target of the Guard, something she definitely wouldn't want. And everything she had done so far, if she was the one behind all of the attacks, indicated she didn't want to attract that kind of attention. The fire at the inn had been a calculated risk, but only a small one. There was little in the way of a police presence in the small town and thus little chance of being caught.

With a sigh, he nodded. "I do think it is time to go back and confront my cousin. I want to know what he hopes to accomplish by all this, besides getting back at Duo and Heero for the incident in the garden." He looked at each of them. "I just hope you're right."

"You're not the only one," Duo replied, looking grim. 

"Then tomorrow we head for Marinia."

Every head in the group nodded in agreement. It was time to end this.


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty-Four

By SilverLady

The sight that met Quatre's eyes as he topped the last rise before the city of Marinia caused him to gasp in shock. 

Before and below him stretched the port city of Marinia. Not only was the size of the city itself astounding, but there were several building on the outskirts that towered many stories into the air. _How can they make buildings that tall? And why would they?_

As they descended to the main gate of the city, Quatre was kept busy looking around. There were more people in one place than he had ever seen. Even the great Jordina Festival did not draw so many people. 

And the clothing! There were people dressed in wild colored clothing that would practically blind you if you looked to long at them. And others that had pictures and patterns that didn't seem possible. Even the tamest were covered with patterns of flowers in a multitude of colors.

"Are you sure we are going to find a place to stay?" Wufei asked, looking at the crowds.

"There is always places to stay in Marinia," Sally reassured him. "It would look bad for them to have to turn a guest away."

"Not to mention the loss of money."

Sally laughed. "So true."

Trowa looked up at one of the large buildings they were passing. "What are these?"

"Most large inns. There are a couple on the other side of town that are rented out for people who want to stay for the season."

Heero arched an eyebrow. "And they get enough people here to fill them?"

"All the time. This is the main destination of anyone going on a vacation. Some people have saved their whole lives to come here."

"Why?"

Sally shrugged. "Because someone made it sound like a good idea. You should walk the Boardwalk while you are here. There are a lot of wonderful shops that line one side of it and the on the other is the beach."

Quatre blinked at that bit of information. He'd never seen a beach before. He hoped Trowa would let him go.

"So where are we staying?" Wufei asked.

"I know of a small inn in the old part of town. The rooms are very well maintained and the food is excellent. Plus the owner is an old friend. He'll treat you right."

Quatre noticed that Duo was eyeing the large structures with no small measure of distress. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

Duo looked over at him, his eyes huge with unspoken fear. "What makes them stay up like that? Aren't they afraid they're going to...." Duo gulped as he looked back up. "Fall down?"

"I guess not. But don't worry. I don't think we'll be staying in any of these places."

"I hope not."

Quatre looked at Duo. "Duo, are you afraid of heights?"

Duo looked indignant for a moment, then shuddered. "Not heights, falling."

"But you weren't bothered by the trail over the mountains."

"Sure was. That's why I stayed as close to the inside as I could. That way I couldn't see how high we were."  
  


Quatre blinked, realizing that what Duo said was true. He had not once gotten near the edge of any of the trails they had used. "I didn't..."

Duo shrugged. "It's not something I talk about."

"Is that why you hurt you ankle back at that inn?"

Duo nodded. "Heero had to literally throw me out. I was too scared to go out myself."

"Does he know how you feel?"

Duo shrugged again. "Don't know. He's never asked and I've never said anything."

"Why not?"

Duo looked down. "Because it's a weakness. If you've paid any attention to Heero you know he has no patience for weakness of any kind. He'd get rid of me in an instant if he ever found out."

Quatre looked towards Heero, who was riding ahead of them as he talked to Trowa and the others. He couldn't believe that of the man. Though he did seem cold to him, Quatre knew that he cared very deeply for his manservant. "No, he wouldn't."

"Don't say anything," Duo hissed suddenly. "I won't take that chance. I won't risk losing him."

Quatre nodded, mostly to reassure his friend. He would never tell anyone something told in confidence. 

"What are you two talking about?" Wufei's voice suddenly floated back to them.

"How they could build buildings this high," Duo told him, no trace of his fear in his voice.

_How often is the face you show us just a mask?_ Quatre wondered, noting the transformation.

Wufei nodded as he glanced up. "It is impressive, isn't it? Though it seems like a great waste of time to me."

Sally laughed. "But they obviously don't feel the same, do they?"

"How much farther to this inn you have in mind?" Heero asked, glancing back at the others.

"Not too far."

"Duo, come join me up here," Heero said calmly, looking back at his manservant. "I want to talk to you."

"Yes, master," Duo muttered, urging his horse forward.

Heero suddenly laughed. "And don't you forget it."

Duo made a face as his horse came up beside Heero's. "And if I forget?"

Heero leaned over and grabbed a hold of the back of Duo's head. "I'll just have to remind you," he whispered, before pressing his lips to Duo's.

"Oh great," Wufei moaned. "Couldn't you wait until you were in your room to do that? You're hurting my eyes with you flagrant display of..."

Sally reached over and smacked the back of his head. "Be quiet. You're making more of a scene than they are."

Wufei glared as he rubbed the back of his head. "Woman, don't do that again."

"Or?"

"I will make you regret it."

"Promise?"

Wufei sputtered before turning his back on her.

Quatre sighed as he watched the exchange. He really didn't think Duo had anything to fear about losing Heero. Especially if the man was willing to kiss him in front of all these strangers. And it would be nice if Wufei and Sally would quite beating around the bush and be honest to each other.

He sighed again as he looked at Trowa. And what was going on with him? Quatre was growing more confused about his feelings for his master and by the hot and cold way Trowa was treating him. He really wasn't sure where he stood right now. 

_Maybe I should be the one worried about being sold off. There are times when I feel like he really doesn't want anything more to do with me. Not that I blame him. I've caused him nothing but trouble. _

_But do I want anything to do with him? And how much? I always believed that any kind of relationship between two men was bad, but now I'm not so sure. Duo and Heero certainly seem happier than many of the 'normal' couples I've seen. And Duo certainly seemed to be enjoying what Heero was doing to him that day. I wonder what it would feel like. To have someone take me like that. Would it hurt or would it feel good? Do I even want to find out? _

_Oh Quatre you are so stupid. Why would he want to carry on any kind of relationship with a plain, weak slave like me anyway? I'm nothing special, not like he deserves. I'm small and weak and stupid and foolish and plain and a big crybaby. He needs someone who is strong and won't run at the first sign of trouble. I just stood there and let my own mother die and never did anything to help. He certainly doesn't need someone who wilts at the first sign of trouble or who expects everything to go his way. Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

_And besides, thanks to his kind I'm the last of my kind. I should wait until he will finally be able to let me go and then go back home to find myself a bride to bring back my people. I shouldn't even be thinking such things as having sex with another man. Am I so bored and silly as to think such a thing could be good?_

_Oh, Great One, I'm even more confused than I was. What am I supposed to do? Is what I've been thinking about good or bad? Should I let Trowa take me, if that is what he wants? Or maybe I should ask Duo to show me what it is all about and what I should do. I trust Duo and..... _Quatre closed his eyes. He really didn't know what he should do. All these feelings and thoughts were running through him and making him feel even more out of control than before. His head ached with the multitude of confusing thoughts rushing through him.

Trowa glanced back, a frown of concern on his face. Something wasn't right. Suddenly he noticed Quatre start to slip sideways in his saddle. "Catch him!" he shouted as Quatre slumped over and began to fall.

Fortunately, Wufei was able to react quickly enough and caught Quatre before he hit the ground.

Trowa had already turned his horse back to where they had stopped. "What happened? Is he all right?"

Wufei glanced up. "I don't know. He's out cold."

Trowa dismounted and hurried as fast as his leg would allow over to Wufei. "Give him to me."

Wufei did so, a perplexed look on his face.

Trowa carefully brushed the hair out of Quatre's eyes. "Little one, wake up," he whispered.

Quatre moaned softly, but otherwise remained still. 

Trowa looked up. "We need to get him to that inn."

Sally nodded. "I'll fetch a doctor as soon as we're settled. It could have been because of the head injury."

Trowa nodded and looked at Wufei. "After I get back on my horse, hand him up to me."

Wufei looked at Trowa for a minute, but didn't argue. "Let's get going."

Trowa carefully handed Quatre back to Wufei before mounting his horse. After he had gotten the unconscious blond settled he nodded to Sally. "Let's go."

Without another word the small group headed out, each one concerned in their own way about Quatre's unexpected collapse.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty Five

By SilverLady

Fingers were the first thing that registered to Quatre as he opened his eyes. Long slender fingers coming towards him. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

Suddenly the fingers were snatched away. "Quatre?"

Quatre opened his eyes fully, finding himself in the familiar position of staring up at Duo's concerned face. "Is this beginning to become a habit?" he whispered.

Duo smiled a little as he leaned back. "Looks that way. How are you feeling?"

Quatre blinked a couple of times, realizing that he was laying on a bed. "Confused," he replied. "Where are we?"

"An inn."

"I don't remember getting here."

"That's 'cause you were out cold when we got here."

Quatre looked at Duo with a bewildered look on his face. "Why?"

Duo shrugged. "Don't know. We were riding along when all the sudden you just passed out. Trowa had a doctor look you over but he couldn't find nothing wrong."

Quatre closed his eyes for a minute, trying to see what he could remember. "I was thinking about some things when I just got kinda dizzy. That's all I remember."

"What things?"

"This and that."

Duo arched an eyebrow at the evasion, but didn't press. "Well, I guess you'd best not be thinking so hard no more. It's not good for your head."

Quatre managed a slight smile as he tried to sit up. He frowned when Duo reached forward and gently pressed him back down into the bed. "I want to get up," he complained.

Duo shook his head. "Not for a while. Doc said to make you rest for today. That's why I'm still here. So you stay right where you are."

Quatre frowned again. "Where are the others?"

"Don't know where Wufei and Sally went. Trowa and Heero went to see about booking us passage on the next ship back to Macir."

Quatre noticed the odd look on Duo's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a bit worried about them walking around the city with some killer out there. What if that bitch decides it's worth the risk and tries to take them out. I should have gone with them." Duo suddenly shot to his feet and walked over to the window. "I can protect Heero. I wouldn't let anyone get to him. Not now that I know someone is after him. I'd make them rue the day they ever came near Shinigami."

Quatre sat up and looked at his friend. "Duo?"  
  


Duo turned and looked at him, a strange look in his eyes. "It's true, you know. What they say about me. I did kill my last two masters. They deserved it." He turned back to the window. "My first master was convinced everyone was out to kill him so he came up with the idea of training someone that no one would ever suspect to be his bodyguard. I knew more about killing people by the time I was seven than most people ever learn. The first person I ever killed was one of his compatriots. He was convinced the guy was plotting to take over his business so he had me kill him. I was only six at the time" 

Duo closed his eyes. "I could have killed Michal that night. It wouldn't have been hard and it wouldn't have been the first time I've used my braid for that purpose." He gave a harsh laugh. "I even tried it on Heero once, right after he bought me. But he was stronger that I thought. He damn near ripped my hair right out of my scalp getting away.

"Now I'll use everything I ever learned to protect him. He is the most important thing in this world to me and I won't let some fucked up bastard that thinks he's god's gift to the world hurt him."

Quatre watched silently as Duo seemed to close in on himself. _If I hadn't passed out then he wouldn't be so upset. _"Duo. I'm sorry. I...."

Duo turned around and gave him a half smile. "It's not your fault." He walked back over to the bed. "I know Heero is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I just worry about him."

Quatre reached out and placed his hand on Duo's arm. "And he worries about you. Which is probably why he left you here to play nursemaid to me. So that you'd be out of harm's way."

Duo smiled ruefully. "You're probably right." He watched Quatre for a minute. "It don't bother you?"

"What?"

"Knowing you're friends with a killer."

Quatre tightened his grasp on Duo's arm. "You plan on killing me?"

"No. I don't do that stuff no more. Not unless I have to."

Quatre smiled. "Then I don't see anything wrong with us being friends. You are what you are. I can't hate you for that. I can hate the people that did this to you, made you into what you are. But even knowing it, it doesn't bother me. I come from a long line of people that could be called killers. They did what they had to. I just wish that people didn't see it as a necessary thing. And I can't understand the mentality of someone that would teach a child to kill."

Duo returned the smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime. I just hope there doesn't come a day when people make their children fight their wars for them."

Duo shrugged. "In this fucked up world, anything is possible."

"I know. That's the sad part."

*****

"Okay so you take this card and lay it on this card. If the card you....."

Heero arched an eyebrow as he walked into the sitting area of the suite of rooms they had rented and heard Duo's voice through the slightly open door. "I thought Quatre was supposed to be resting."

Trowa frowned as he followed Heero in. "He is. Why?"

"Because it sounds like Duo is teaching him to play cards."

Trowa closed his eyes for a minute. "He is becoming a bad influence."

Heero snorted. "I could say the same about Quatre," he retorted as he moved across the room.

"So if this card is worth more than this card then...."  
  


"Duo, what are you doing?"

Duo jumped about two feet in the air at the unexpected voice. Turning, he looked guiltily at Heero. "Nothing."

Heero eyed the cards spread across the bed in front of him. "Doesn't look like nothing to me."

"It's my fault," Quatre whispered looking down at his lap. "I was bored and asked him to show me a card game. Don't be mad at him."

"Duo, Quatre is supposed to be resting."

"He is. He hasn't moved from that spot once."

"I did go to the bathroom," Quatre reminded him.

"Okay, then once. But only that once, 'cause I sure didn't want him wetting the bed and he would have if I hadn't taken him but that really......."

"Duo."

Duo blinked at Heero. "Huh?"

"It's time to leave. Let Quatre get some rest now."

"Oh. Okay." Duo looked at Quatre. "I gotta go now."

Quatre smiled. Duo sounded just like a little boy that had been called home by his mother. 

Duo stood up and began gathering up the cards. "I'll show you some more later."

Heero glanced at Quatre, quietly assessing the blonde's condition. He noticed that there was more color in the boy's cheeks than there had been earlier. Whatever had caused his collapse didn't seem to be anything too serious.

Duo waved slightly to Quatre as he left the room. He really hoped Trowa wasn't mad at him. He'd just wanted to keep the blonde from getting bored while they waited for new about what was going on. Besides showing Quatre the card game had kept him from worrying so much about Heero.

Trowa was sitting on the sofa when Duo entered the room. "I hope you're not teaching him how to gamble."

Duo managed a grin as he placed the cards on the side table. "Not yet."

"Duo." Heero came up behind him. "Just because you can beat just about anyone at card games doesn't mean you can drag someone new in."

Duo pouted at Heero. "You never let me have any fun. I can't help it if all your cronies are mad 'cause they can't beat one stupid slave at cards."

Trowa shook his head. He never could understand how Duo, who couldn't even read, always managed to win at card games. He was so good, in fact, most everyone refused to play with him anymore. "Maybe you should use the cards to teach Duo how to read."

Heero shook his head slightly as he walked over to Trowa and sat down. "Don't even go there."

Duo grinned as he took a seat on the floor next to Heero. Although Heero didn't expect such behavior from Duo, he liked being as close as he could. With a sigh he leaned against Heero's leg, sighing again when Heero immediately reached over and began rubbing his hand through Duo's hair. 

Trowa looked over at the two. He could swear it sounded like Duo was purring. 

Finally Duo looked up at Heero. "When are we leaving?"

"Day after tomorrow. "

Duo managed a weak grin. "Good."

Heero looked at him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I've just.... never been on a boat before."

Trowa blinked. "You'll be fine. It's nothing to worry about."

Heero looked at him for a minute. "I'll hold you to that."

Duo looked up at Heero in surprise. "You've never....."

Heero shook his head. "Not that I remember. Never had a reason to get on one before. Guess there is a first time for everything."

Trowa looked at his friend. "We could still change plans and ride back."

Heero shook his head. "No. We need to get back the quickest way we can. And that's by ship. It will only be for a couple of days."

Duo blinked. "Really. That's all?"

"Macir is about two and half to three days sailing down the coast from here," Trowa informed him. "A straight ride is about ten days."

"Partially because a boat makes better time and you don't have to stop," Heero added.

Duo nodded. "True." He paused for a moment. "So we are going to be here all day tomorrow?"

Heero looked down at him. "Yes."

"With nothing to do but wait?"

Heero's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Yes."

"So, could we go to the Boardwalk and to the beach." He looked up at Heero with pleading eyes. "Please. I want to see what all the shops look like and Quatre's never been to the beach before and it would be really neat and I'll make sure no one can hurt us and....."

"Duo." There was a very clear warning in Heero's voice.

Duo lowered his eyes. "I just...."

Heero reached over and ran his finger across Duo's cheek. "Let's see what the doctor says and see how things are. Maybe we can walk around for a little while tomorrow."

Duo smiled up at him. "Thank you."

Heero looked over at Trowa. "If you don't mind."

Trowa shook his head. "Sounds like a plan to me." He rose to his feet. "I'm going to go in and see how Quatre is doing. Why don't you see about ordering us some dinner or finding out where a good place to eat might be."

Duo jumped to his feet. "Food. Good. I'm starved."

Heero laughed as he too stood up. "You're always starved."

Duo grinned. "Gotta keep my strength up."

Heero just shook his head. "Let's go see what we can find out."

Duo bound over to the door and opened it. "After you, Master."

Heero walked over. "Finally, you're starting to learn." As he walked through the door, Duo reached over and smacked his ass.

"Duo!"

"Or not," Trowa commented as he watched the door shut.

*****

"Quatre?"

Quatre blinked sleepily at the soft voice. "Who?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Trowa's whispered softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Quatre looked at him, eyes still foggy from sleep. "Master?"

Trowa bit back a sigh. "Do you feel up to eating?"

Slowly Quatre nodded. "Yes, Master. I..." He started to sit up, not noticing that Trowa had leaned closer to hear what he was saying.

He was startled when he realized how close Trowa was to him. "Master?"

Trowa looked at Quatre for a moment. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Master. I just got a little dizzy. Probably from the sun. I'm fine now. I should..."

Trowa leaned in a little closer. "You should rest. I don't want a repeat of this afternoon. You could have hurt yourself."

"I know, Master. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be. Just be more careful. You scared me."

"I didn't mean to, Master. I..."

"Quatre?" Trowa's green eyes were looking calmly at him, a strange look in them.

"Yes, Master?"

"What is it going to take to get you to stop calling me Master?"

"Master?" Quatre licked his suddenly dry lips. He was so close they were practically breathing each other's air.

"Maybe this will work," Trowa whispered.

 Quatre's eyes went wide when Trowa leaned that last little bit of distance and gently pressed his lips to Quatre's. _Oh Great One, he's kissing me. What should I do?_

Quatre felt Trowa's hand slide into his hair and gently press him forward, firming the kiss. So startled by the feeling, Quatre gasped, opening his mouth and letting Trowa's tongue in to explore.

For what seemed like an eternity, Trowa explored the warm cavern of Quatre's mouth, learning the unique taste and feel that was Quatre.

A low moan from Quatre finally brought Trowa back to the present. With a low muttered curse he pulled away, staring in shock at the small blonde. His lips were swollen from the force of the kiss and there was a strange look on his face.

With another silent curse Trowa jerked himself to his feet. 

Quatre looked up at him, bewilderment plain on his face. "Master?" he whispered.

Trowa stepped away from the bed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I had no right to do that. I promise it won't happen again. I..." 

He turned and limped quickly from the room, his emotions in a turmoil. _Oh god, what have I done. I kissed him. I can't believe I did such a thing. How could I have done such a thing?_

Quatre slowly raised his hand to his lips. "But Master," he whispered. "I think I would like that to happen again."


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty Six

By SilverLady

Quatre wrinkled his nose at the scent that rose up to greet him as he followed Trowa down the long pier to the ship that was taking them back to Macir. It was a combination of sea water, dead fish, old wood and something unidentifiable. He hoped the ship didn't smell like this or it would not be a pleasant trip.

Turning his attention away from the smell, Quatre watched Trowa as he walked in front of him. If his feelings weren't confusing enough, the kiss of a few days before had only muddied the waters. He really didn't know what he felt toward the tall man and he sure didn't understand Trowa's motives. Just when he thought he knew where things were going, Trowa would do something to change them. Quatre wasn't sure if Trowa liked him, lusted after him, hated him or what. He was so afraid to do the wrong thing that he was growing wary of doing anything at all. Even what he should call him seemed to change without warning.

When Trowa stopped at the ramp leading up to the deck of the ship, Quatre also stopped. He slowly looked the ship over from front to back. He'd never seen such a large ship before. "Master?"

Trowa looked back at his blonde slave. "Yes, Quatre?"

"What about the horses? Shouldn't we have just ridden them back.? It doesn't seem right to leave them here." Quatre was very nervous about getting on something that was supposed to stay on a very deep body of water. He didn't see how something so large could possibly float without sinking, especially when you started putting things on it.

Trowa made note of Quatre's nervousness. "They are going back with us."

"How?"

"They are already loaded on the ship."

Quatre swallowed hard at that bit of news. He hadn't known horses could get on ships, too. "Will they be all right?"

"They'll be fine. The company that owns this vessel has a group of well trained handlers that sail with any shipment containing animals. They'll probably be better off than we are."

"Damn that's a big ship," Duo suddenly interrupted as he bound up to them. "And what is that smell? Smells like something died. I hope it don't smell like that for the whole trip. Makes my stomach turn."

"And anything that would prevent him from eating would be tragic," Wufei commented dryly as he walked up with Heero and Sally.

"Damn right," Duo retorted. He slide up to Heero. "Heero likes me to be ready to go at any time. Right, Heero?"

Heero glared at the long haired slave.

"See, I told you so."

Trowa shook his head. "Let's get on board. They'll be sailing soon and I'd like to get settled into our cabins." Turning, he headed up the ramp to the ship.

Quatre glanced over at Duo, who shrugged before following Heero. With a sigh Quatre moved forward, hoping that this trip would be uneventful. In any way.

*****

Fortunately for Quatre's peace of mind, the ship set sail without incident. He was also glad to find that he had no trouble getting used to the slight motion the ship made. In fact, the huge camels the Wasin rode swayed more than the ship did and he had never had any trouble when riding one of them.

Moving carefully around the small cabin that had been assigned to him, Quatre put away the things he had brought with him. The cabin was connected to Trowa's and was obviously used as sleeping quarters for the slaves traveling with their masters. Actually, Quatre didn't mind the small room. It was less trouble to keep clean and he really didn't have a lot of things any way.

The sudden knock at the door made him jump in surprise. Moving silently across the floor, he reached the door and opened it. "Master?"

Trowa stood looking at the small blonde. _He's so small, _was the inane thought that ran through Trowa's mind. "Are you ready for dinner?"

Quatre blinked in surprise, for more than one reason. "Is it that late, Master?"

"Yes." Trowa turned and walked away from the door, passing through his own cabin on his way to the door that lead the passage beyond. He paused when he realized that Quatre hadn't followed him. "Come on. We are dining with the Captain tonight and we don't want to keep him waiting."

Quatre stood unmoving in the doorway. He didn't think that slave ate with their masters, even on ships. He'd expected to be sent something or told to go the kitchen and get something to bring back to the room. "You want me to eat with you, Master?"

Trowa sighed. "Where else did you think you were eating?"  
  


"In here, Master."

"Why would you think that?"

"I am only a slave, Master. I would not presume to be allowed to eat with the regular guests of this ship."  
  


Trowa turned around, noting that Quatre was looking at the floor and not at him. He knew his behavior towards the young man was confusing, but he was just as confused. Just when he had things figured out, another piece would appear and the picture would grow muddled once more.

"It is easier all the way around if you join me for dinner. I do expect you to behave, but your presence will not be questioned. Now come on. We don't want to keep the others waiting."

Quietly Quatre walked across the room and fell in behind Trowa. "As you command, Master."

Trowa winced but said nothing. He wanted an obedient slave and he had apparently gotten one.

*****

Wufei was leaning against the wall outside the door, a frown on his face. "It's about time."

Trowa nodded to him as he walked by. "I hadn't realized it was getting so late. I'm sorry."

Wufei glared at Quatre, who stopped to let Wufei go first. "Perhaps you should get a slave that can tell time."

Trowa looked over at Wufei. "What's got your shorts in a twist?"

"Nothing."

"It wouldn't happen to be a certain pretty young lady who decided to return to Macir with us, would it?"

"Why should I care what that woman does?"

Trowa smiled slightly as he stopped outside of Heero and Duo's door. "I don't know. You tell me."

Wufei glared angrily at Trowa and crossed his arms across his chest. "Let's just get Heero and his loud mouthed companion and get moving. I'm hungry."

Trowa just nodded before knocking on the door.

After a minute the door opened and Duo looked out. "Uh, hi. Is it that late? I guess you're going to dinner, right?"

"Yes," Wufei snapped. "Now get Heero and let's go."

"Uh, we're not going. So you can go on without us."

Trowa frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, much."

Wufei stepped forward. "There will be plenty of time for screwing around later. I am hungry and do not want to wait for you and Heero to get ready. Now come on."

Duo looked down at the floor. "It's not that," he protested. "It's just that...." He was suddenly interrupted by a soft moan.

"Duo?" Heero's voice floated out from the cabin.

Duo glanced back into the room. "I'll be just a minute. The others are here to go to dinner."

Another soft moan was his only answer.

"Duo," Wufei snapped, loosing his patience. 

"Duo, what is wrong?" Trowa asked calmly.

"Heero's seasick," Duo blurted out.

Trowa looked at him for a minute. "He's what?"

"Seasick. You know, nausea, vomiting, feeling miserable. The whole thing. He certainly is not interested in eating. I told him I'd stay here and keep him company. If you could just bring me something back, I'd appreciate it."

Wufei slowly shook his head. "I can't believe Heero Yuy is seasick."

"Yeah, well, he is. So you go on to dinner and don't worry about us."

Trowa looked at the braided man for a minute. "I'll see if I can get some food sent down. And I'll see if they have anything to help Heero feel better."

"Uh, could you have the food sent to your room. If he feels like I do when I'm sick, even the smell of food is not something he wants. I'll just eat it there."

"All right. I'll have them let you know when it arrives."

"Thanks. Have fun." With a slight smile he closed the door.

"And I thought that some of the others things that have happened on this trip have been strange," Wufei commented.

"Well, he did say he'd never been on a ship before." Trowa glanced back at Quatre, who was waiting patiently. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Master."

"Have you been on a ship before?"

"No, Master. But I've ridden Wasin camels and they sway a great deal more than this ship."

"Just let me know if you start feeling sick."

"Yes, Master."

"Then let's get going. They aren't going to hold dinner for us." Trowa moved away from the door and headed down the passage. Wufei followed quickly behind.

Quatre glanced at the doorway. _Who would have thought it would be Heero that would be made sick by this ship. If I was to pick someone it would not have been him. I hope it is only the motion of the ship that has made him ill and not something more serious. Should I say something to Trowa about it or not? Perhaps I should. With everything that has happened it would be better to be cautious. _

With that thought firmly in place, Quatre followed after the others.


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty Seven

By SilverLady

The soft whisper of the wind through the sails, the creak of the ship and the gentle slap of the waves against the bow all combined together into a soothing symphony of sounds that lulled Chang Wufei as he stood on the moonlit deck of the ship. He stood near the railing and closed his eyes, enjoying the sounds of a ship at sea. The others would have been surprised to see him so relaxed and.... free.

It had been some time since he had been on a ship and he found the voyage to be as soothing as always. _Perhaps it is finally been long enough. Perhaps I should think of returning home._

Even as relaxed as he was, though, he was still alert enough to know when someone stepped onto the deck and approached him. Stiffening in readiness he spun around to see who had dared invade his solitude. 

Recognizing the approaching figure he straightened with a soft curse. "What do you want, woman?"

Sally gave him an innocent look as she stepped up to the rail beside him. "This isn't your ship. I'm allowed to walk around if I want to. I thought I'd come out and enjoy the night air."

"And follow me."

Sally looked at him. "You have a more colossal attitude than I first thought, thinking that way. You are not the only man in this world. And there certainly are plenty that are much more interesting than you."

"Every time I turn around you are there," Wufei retorted, leaning against the rails. "Like some damn shadow."

"We just both happen to be going in the same direction."

Wufei snorted his opinion of that statement. After a moment he glanced over at her. "Is there something wrong that you cannot even dress like a woman?" 

Sally looked down at her clothes. She was wearing her favorite riding clothes, made of soft leather. "Why do you insist on trying to make people into things they are not? This is who I am."

"A woman pretending to be a man."  
  


"I never claimed to be a man. I simply do not think that people should be looked at in a certain way simply because of what they were born as."

"So you think that women can do anything that men do."

"I didn't say that. There are some things that men do that women can't." A smile crossed her face. "Like pee standing up."

Wufei sputtered in indignation at her comment.

"And there are things that women do that men can't. But I don't think anyone should be limited by their sex, or their looks, or anything else. They should be able to find out for themselves what they are capable of doing."

Wufei stared out to sea. Sally's comments reminded him of what another woman had said to him. "You sound like someone I knew."

"Really?"

"Yes. She too wanted to be allowed to be what she wanted, not what was expected of her."

"And what did she want to be?"  
  


"A warrior. She wanted to defend the clan from our enemies. Not sit around waiting for others to do it."

"She sounds like a strong person."

"She was." He was quiet for a moment. "And her strength is what got her killed."

"What was she to you? Your sister?"

"My wife."

"I didn't think you were old enough to be married."

"We were betrothed at birth. When we were of age we were married."  
  


"And she didn't like the fact she wasn't given a choice."  
  


"No. Her life was mapped out for her from the moment of her birth, as was mine. She just chaffed more at what she saw as bonds than I did. I saw no reason to fight. My life was good and calm, I didn't see why she had to go shaking things up. But she always was questioning. She was never satisfied with the answer."

"Did you love her?"

"I don't know. I was never given the chance to find out. I did admire her, secretly, for rocking the boat. But I never told her that."

"How did she die?"

"My House is one of the smaller ones, but my people are very proud. My father had been chosen to be the next Guardian, a great honor that many of the Houses fought for. So much so, that while the men were away on a hunting expedition, a larger House attacked. They hoped that by destroying us, their House would be named the Guardian instead. Merian would not stand by and let that happen. She grabbed a sword and flung herself into the battle without a thought of what might happen. By the time I was able to join her, it was too late. She had been mortally wounded, but not before killing their leader." He was silent for a long moment. "She died in my arms, never knowing how proud of her I was."

He turned and looked at Sally. "I swore I would never allow a strong woman to become such an important part of my life. That it would only lead to misery. And yet here I stand, finding myself becoming more and more intrigued by you with each passing moment. And you are perhaps even stronger than she was. It frightens me more than any thing I have ever faced."

Sally sighed. "Would it help to know that I feel the same way?"

"So what do we do about it?"

Sally smiled as she stepped closer to him. "See what happens next. And enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts. It may be the worst thing that has ever happened to either of us. Or it might just be the most wonderful thing in the world."

Wufei sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. _I hope you understand, my wild one._ A soft breeze whispered across him, almost as if in answer and he knew that his first love approved.

*****

Quatre lay staring at the ceiling, his thoughts uneasy. Though the day had passed quietly, especially since Wufei and Sally seemed to have reached some kind of understanding with each other and Duo had been kept occupied taking care of Heero,  Quatre couldn't help but feel as if something was brewing on the horizon. It wasn't something he could put his fingers on, just a vague feeling the niggled at the back of his mind.

After a few minutes he rose to his feet and headed across the room. Perhaps if he checked on the others and assured himself they were all right he would finally be able to sleep.

But the sight that met his eyes when he entered the main cabin did nothing to ease his worries. The bed were Trowa should have been peacefully sleeping was empty, with no indication that it had even been touched that night.

His brow creasing with the worry he felt, Quatre slipped from the room and headed down the passageway. He hoped that Trowa had simply gone to Duo and Heero's cabin to see how Heero was doing and perhaps to talk. Pausing outside the room, he tried to listen through the door, not wanting to disturb them if that was the case. There was no sounds coming from the cabin within, though, and he carefully opened the door. Peeking in told him that Trowa was not here and he closed the door quickly, not want to disturb the other two men's rest.

He started to head for Wufei's cabin, but something made him change his mind and he headed up on deck instead. Thought the wind was light and the moon was shining on the water, Quatre could tell that there might be rain by daybreak. The waters seemed more agitated than they had been and there were clouds scuttling across the moon.

A quick glance around the deck told him nothing, so he began to make his way along the side towards the bow. Just as he was about to head down below to continue his search, he spotted two things that made the breath catch in his throat. 

One was Trowa, standing at the bow of the ship and staring off into the distance. The breeze would catch his cloak and cause it to billow up now and then, but otherwise he looked as if he was a statue that had been placed there to guard the ship and guide her on a safe voyage.

The other thing Quatre saw was much more disturbing. A figure was heading towards Trowa, slipping from shadow to shadow in an obvious effort not to be seen. Now and then the moon would gleam off something the figure carried in its hand.

Stifling the cry that rose in his throat, Quatre dashed forward, trying not to make any sounds and alert the person of his presence and hoping he could reach it before it reached Trowa.

He had almost reached the figure when it stopped and raised its hand into the air, revealing the dagger that it carried. At the same time the wind suddenly blew hard across the ship, throwing back the figure's hood and revealing what appeared to be a long braid of hair.

Quatre didn't have time to think or to yell out a warning, he simply reacted. Flinging himself at the figure, he grabbed the first thing he could get his hand on. The braid. Even as he yanked back he remembered what Angil had taught him, _When it comes to fight, especially to the death, don't worry about fighting fair. They sure won't. Do anything and everything to hurt them first._

So he did. With all the fury of the great Delminar that was the symbol of his people he attacked, lunging onto the figure's back and trying to use his weight to throw the other off balance. He used his fists, his nails, his feet and his teeth as he bite, scratched, clawed, punched and kicked; doing anything he could think of to get the knife away and force the unknown assailant away from Trowa.

His attack seemed to work at first, the suddenness of the attack obvious throwing the attacker off balance. But after a moment the other recovered. Surging backward, Quatre found himself slammed into one of the large wooden crates that littered the deck. Gasping for breath, he was forced to release his hold. 

But the advantage of surprise had been lost and the attacker knew it. With a sudden move, it jumped to the railing of the ship and dove over the side.

Though Trowa quickly reached the side of the ship, there was no sign of anyone or anything. Hearing someone gasping for air, he turned to find Quatre collapsed in a heap on the deck of the ship. He moved to the young blonde's side and helped him to sit up. "Are you all right?"

Quatre managed to nodded even as he struggled to get air back into his aching lungs. "Just.... had the ..... wind..... knocked out ...... of me.. ," he gasped out.

Trowa looked grim as he helped Quatre to his feet. "Who ever it was got away, again."

"I'm sorry, Master. I....."

Trowa looked at the contrite boy. "You saved my life. Don't berate yourself for your efforts. I owe you."

"But if I had...."

"Another day. Don't worry about it. Let's get you back to the cabin and check your back to make sure it's not seriously hurt."

"Yes, Master."

Quatre sighed as Trowa guided him down to the cabin. _Just when we could have found out who is behind all this. Stupid. You should have held on better._

*****

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Duo's overly cheerful voice called out as he and Heero entered the cabin the next morning. 

"Maxwell, must you be so awake in the morning?" Wufei's gruff voice complained.

Duo simply laughed.

Quatre turned around to say something to Duo and found he couldn't. All he could do was stare at Duo's face. For Duo was sporting a black eye and had a long scratch down his right cheek.

Duo realized Quatre was staring at him and raised his hand unconsciously to his cheek. "Doesn't hurt as bad as it looks." 

"What happened?" Wufei demanded.

"Heero got a little restless in his sleep last night. I tried to calm him down and he hit me. It's no big deal. At least he didn't try and choke me this time."

Quatre glanced over at Heero, who had taken a seat on the small couch and was watching Duo quietly. He seemed upset about something, but Quatre dared not ask what might be wrong. Instead he turned to look at Duo again. An image flickered through his mind, of a figure with a long braid of hair and a knife. And of himself, punching and scratching that figure.

Slowly he closed his eyes, _Please Great One, no._

"Q, you okay?" Duo asked as he walked over. Quatre couldn't help but notice he was limping ever so slightly.

"I'm fine. Just not awake yet."

"Oh. Kinda early?" Duo turned and headed for Heero. Quatre couldn't help but stare at the long sleeved shirt he wore. What did it hide? Did it hide more scratches and bite marks? Ones that he had inflicted on Trowa's attacker. 

"He was up late last night," Trowa informed him as he walked into the room. "I was rather stupid last night and went for a walk." He paused. "It was nearly my last. Our shadow tried to attack me, but Quatre chased her away."

"Where to?" Wufei demanded. "Why didn't you go after her?"

"I don't swim that well. She jumped overboard."

"Stupid thing to do," Duo muttered.

Trowa shrugged. "We're not that far from shore, really. She probably could have swum it easily."

"So we still don't know who's behind this," Wufei complained.

"No. But we'll be home tomorrow and I can confront my cousin. Maybe then we'll get some answers."

"Let's hope so."

*****

But when they arrived in the harbor the next day a surprising sight met their eyes. 

The docks were quiet, with only a few people to land the ship waiting around. 

"What's going on?" Wufei asked as he stepped from the ship.

"That's a good question. There should be a lot more people here," Trowa replied, looking around. "I can't imagine....."

"Master? What is that?" Quatre asked, pointing toward the center of town.

Trowa looked at where Quatre was pointing and gasped. The large tower that marked the center of town was draped in black cloth. A symbol of mourning used only when someone of great importance had died. Like the King. "Oh, no." He spun around. "Wufei, you and Sally take care of unloading our things and taking them back to the house. Heero, come with me. I need to find out what happened."

"What does it mean?" Wufei asked.

"Someone very high up is dead. Like my uncle. I need to find out what happened."

The others immediately swung into action, Heero sending Duo ahead to secure a carriage for them. Within moments they were on their way to the palace.

_What can happen now? _Quatre wondered.


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight A

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty Eight A

By SilverLady

Trowa sat staring out the window as the carriage rolled through the mostly empty streets. If there was any doubt that anything was wrong, the condition of the streets erased it. What few people Trowa saw were all wearing black bands on their right arms, a sign of mourning. The fact that the black bands also had a strip of purple through them indicated that it was a member of the royal family that was dead. The last Trowa had seen those bands were when his father had been killed.

The fifteen minute trip seemed like an eternity, but finally they arrived at the castle. Trowa had barely gotten out of the carriage when a member of the household was rushing up to him. Trowa recognized him as Lord Jacob Weston, his uncle's head advisor.

The man looked relieved to see Trowa as he stopped in front of him. "Lord Trowa, I'm glad to see you got back so quickly. I was afraid that the message would take longer to reach you." 

"What message?" Trowa asked.

The man blinked in surprised. "Why, the message I sent telling you the accident and asking you to return as quickly as possible."

"I never received a message. There was some trouble on the trip and I decided to return earlier than planned. My ship just arrived at the docks. When I saw the black flags I came straight here to find out what had happened."

"Oh, dear. Then you don't know what happened. I'm sorry. Why don't you go to the library and I'll get His Majesty for you. I'm sure you'd rather here it from him, anyway." With that the man turned and hurried away.

Duo looked around nervously. "Is that such a good idea?"

Trowa sighed. "It doesn't look like we have much of a choice. Let's go. Just be alert."

Heero noticed that Duo's fingers flickered lightly across his right wrist, as if checking for something. He had a feeling that the knife he'd bought for him was hidden beneath the sleeves of Duo's shirt and had probably been there since he'd gotten it. It would explain why Duo had suddenly taken to not rolling the sleeves of his shirt up as he was accustomed to doing.

Trowa looked around the library. There was no one in the room and he didn't see anyone hidden in the shadows. "Quatre." 

"Yes, Master."

"I need to check on something, Fetch me the book _Dark Passages_ please. It's over near the fireplace."

Quatre blinked in bewilderment at Trowa's strange request, but moved across the room to obey. Quickly locating the book, he went to pull it out. To his surprise the book appeared to be stuck. Giving it a hard tug he managed to pull it forward.

There was a sudden grinding sound and the fireplace beside him swung silently open.

Trowa had tensed when Quatre had gone across the room, but he relaxed when the fireplace swung open to revel no one. "Thank you. I wanted to make sure there would be no surprises from that way."

Duo blinked. "How many rooms have this little secret?"

"Most. It was designed as a way for the king to escape if the palace was ever attacked, no matter where he might be. My cousin and I used to play hide and seek in them."

Heero nodded. "A good place for an ambush."

Trowa sighed. "If Michal is behind everything. I didn't want to take any chances."

Just then the door to the library slowly began to open.

Bracing himself, Trowa turned to wait for the person to come into the room. When the figure entered the first thing Trowa felt was one of relief. The second was confusion. "What happened?"

Saddened eyes met his. "I was told you hadn't heard. It was a horrible accident. He was killed instantly."


	40. Chapter Thirty Eight B

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty Eight B

By SilverLady

"They had gone hunting. His horse tripped over something and he was thrown off. It must have been unexpected because he landed badly and.... and broke his neck. He was killed instantly."

Trowa moved forward to wrap a comforting arm around his uncle's shoulders. He knew he should say something, but nothing came to him.

Gawain shuddered. "I know he wasn't always the best person, but he was my son." He looked sadly at his nephew. "And now you are all I have left. My only family and now my heir."

Trowa shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think that is such a good idea, Uncle."

"Why not? You are the last of the family."

"And it will probably stay that way. I doubt if I will ever have any children. You should find someone who can carry on the line for you."

"No. You are my heir and that is final." Gawain stepped away from Trowa and walked over to the fireplace. "Jacob told me you never received his message. That there was some trouble that made you return. What happened?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about."

Gawain turned and looked at Trowa. "Anything that involves you worries me. What happened?"

Trowa sighed. "There were a couple of accidents that seemed rather...."  
  


"Unaccidental."

"Yes. One or more of us could have been killed. I thought it was wiser to return here."

"Why?"

"Safety."

Gawain looked at him for a long moment. "You think Michal had something to do with it."

Trowa looked uncomfortably at the others. "Uncle."

"You came back to confront him, didn't you?" Gawain sighed. "I am sorry. I didn't think he would take me so seriously. I certainly never thought he would stoop to such tactics. I hope none of you were seriously hurt."

Trowa blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I was angry with him after the incident with your slave. I wasn't blind to his faults, although I admit at times it seemed like it. I told him that maybe I should name you my heir, since he was obviously not responsible enough to handle the duties that came with being ruler. He wasn't very happy with that. I had hoped to make him wake up and act like a grown man, not a spoiled child. Obviously, if you felt strongly enough about him being involved that you cut short your trip to come home, I failed." Gawain sighed again. "And now I will never have the chance to make things right."

Trowa stepped over to his uncle. "You can only do so much. He behaved the way he did because he chose to. I doubt if there was anything more you could have done."

Gawain smiled sadly. "You always were more forgiving. If you would like, you may go through his things. Perhaps there will be something there that will answer your questions."

"Thank you. I will, but not right now. It's been a long day and when I saw the mourning flags I came straight here."

"Because you thought it was me."

Trowa nodded.

"Thank you for your concern. You are right, you should go home and rest. We can discuss things at a later time."

Trowa gently hugged his uncle. "But not too much later."

"You won't change my mind. There is nothing that you can say that will make me fell any different."

"We'll see." Trowa looked over at the others. "Ready to go?"

Three heads nodded their agreement.

Trowa gave his uncle one more quick hug before leading the others from the room.

Gawain watched them go. "Nothing. Not even when you tell me you are in love with your slave."

*****

Duo sighed as he leaned back. He had been a little surprised when Trowa had insisted that he and Quatre ride inside with him and Heero. But he was glad, riding outside would have been uncomfortable, since it had started to rain while they had been inside. "I don't know about you all, but I think that seemed a bit anti-climatic. I mean here we are already to confront Michal and instead we find out he managed to get himself killed."

Heero reached over and rubbed a hand along Duo's arm. "Fate has a strange way of catching up with people."

"Yeah, but to fall off your horse and break your neck. That's gotta suck."

"At least it's over." Trowa commented softly.

"You hope. Maybe whoever was hired to kill whoever still has a grudge. I still think we need to be alert. Never know where the killer might be lurking."

Heero nodded in agreement. "Until we know for certain who was behind the attacks and have captured that person we shouldn't let our guard down. Just because it is likely the head is dead, doesn't mean the body isn't still kicking."

Trowa grimaced at Heero's choice of words, but he understood what he meant. "We'll give my uncle a few more days to mourn, then we'll go through Michal's things. As he said, maybe the answer we're looking for is there. And hopefully his death has at least shaken his subordinates enough that there will be no problems for the next couple of days."

"We can only hope."

*****

 Heero smiled a little as he walked up behind Duo and wrapped his arms around the long haired boy's waist. "You're quiet."

Much to Duo's shock and pleasure, Heero had calmly informed him that he would no longer be sleeping in the slaves' quarters. He wanted him to move into the room with him. "Just tired. Guess I was a bit pumped up for a confrontation with Michal. Now that  it didn't happen I feel...."

"Drained."

"Yeah. If you don't mind I think I'm going to lay down for a while."

Heero turned Duo around to face him. He noticed the tight lines of pain around Duo's eyes. "Are you sure you are all right? You look like you hurt."

"I'm fine. I've got a bit of a headache, but a nap will take care of that."

"If you are sure."

"I am. Wake me when it's dinner time."

Heero nodded. "I will." He watched as Duo turned and walked over to the bed. "Sleep well."

Duo smiled at him but said nothing.

*****

It was several hours later when Heero returned to the room. For a long moment he simply watched the sleeping form on his bed, wondering how he had ever gotten so lucky.  

Sighing slightly he reached over to shake Duo awake. "Duo."

Dark violet eyes snapped open. "Don't touch me," Duo hissed.

Heero blinked in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Duo's arm lashed out and he slapped Heero's hand away from him. Sitting up he glared angrily at the confused man. "I said don't touch me. I'm sick and tired of having to take what you want to dish out."

Heero stared in shock at the boy in front of him. He'd never heard the soft deadly tone of voice from Duo before. "Duo...."

"I've had it," Duo snapped, jumping to his feet. "I won't lay here while you fuck me like some damn doll. Not anymore. I may just be your damn slave, but I have feelings and thoughts just like everyone else." Suddenly there was a gleam of metal in Duo's hand as he produced the knife he'd been hiding. "It ends right now. No more. Not from you  or anyone. No more fucking, no more beating, no more experimenting, NO MORE."  
  


Suddenly Duo lunged forward, the red of the jewel in the knife glinting in the light. 

Heero was so stunned by Duo's unexpected attack that he did nothing to defend himself. He gasped in pain as the blade sank deep into his shoulder. The pain served as a catalyst, snapping him from his shock. His hand shot out and he grabbed a hold of Duo's arm before he could pull the blade free and use it again. "Duo. It's me. It's Heero. What's wrong?"

Duo was sobbing as he struggled to free himself. "No more. I can't take it anymore. You're not a man, you're a monster. I just wanna be free. You're just like all the others. You say pretty things, but they are just lies. You make me sick, when you touch me. You get your kicks outta watchin' me scream, don't you." 

Each of Duo's words was a blow to Heero's gut. He had never thought that Duo had felt that way. "Duo."

Duo's struggles grew more violent and he started hitting on Heero with his free hand. "I'm gonna kill you, just like I did the other one. You'll go to hell with him cause I am Shinigami and I'm gonna send you there. I'm not gonna let you stick those things in me anymore. You won't ever hurt no one again. I'll see to that."

Duo started sobbing harder as he twisted in Heero's grasp. "Let me go. Damn it get your hands off of me. I don't want no more of those drugs in me. I don't like the things they do to me. They hurt. Let me go. I wanna go. I don't wanna be yours no more. I...."

Just then one of Duo's flailing hand hit Heero's injured shoulder. With a gasp, Heero release his grip on Duo.

Duo took the opportunity to bolt, slamming out of the room as if there were demons on his tail.

Even as Heero moved to follow, he reached up to pull the dagger from his shoulder. He suddenly understood what was going on. Duo wasn't aware of who he had been yelling at. His memories had obviously reached up and dragged him into the past. 

Heero had barely taken two steps down the hall when he literally ran into Trowa. "Move. I've got to catch Duo."

Trowa was stunned when he saw the blood running down Heero's arm. "What happened?" he asked as he reached out to support Heero.

"It's nothing. I've got to catch Duo before he hurts himself."

"Heero, who did this? Is that woman in here?"

"No."  
  


"Then who?"

Heero looked at Trowa. He was delaying him, costing him precious moments. "Duo. Duo stabbed me, all right. I've got to get to him before he hurts himself."

Trowa gasped. "Duo?"

"He didn't mean it. He's.....not himself. It happens. Sometime he gets so caught up in his memories that he can't tell what's real and what isn't. He thought I was someone else." Heero suddenly sagged. "I have to get to him. Calm him down."

Trowa slide his arm around Heero's waist. "You need a doctor. You're bleeding, badly."

"No. Duo is what's important."

Trowa looked at his friend. He was concerned about the pallor of Heero's face. It was obvious to him that only Heero's stubbornness was keeping him on his feet. "QUATRE!"

The little blonde appeared almost immediately. "Master?"

"You have to go after Duo and bring him back. He's..... upset and not himself. Be careful though, he might try and hurt you or himself. He's already hurt Heero."

Quatre looked over at the other man, a little shocked to see the blood. "Why?"

"He's caught up in his memories and doesn't know where he is," Heero whispered, his voice noticeably weaker. "He thinks he's still with that bastard that owned him before. You have to get him calmed down. He'll listen to you. Please, bring him back."

Quatre nodded. "I will." Turning he dashed down the hall. _Maybe this being trapped in his past was what happened that night on the ship, if it was him. With all the stress he's been under it wouldn't be surprising. I hope I can get to him before he does anything more. The little bit he's told me wasn't good. He's a trained killer and he's afraid enough to use those skills against anyone who tries to stop him. I just hope I can get through to him. Great One, please help me. Watch out for him until I can catch up to him._  


	41. Chapter Thirty Nine

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Thirty Nine

By SilverLady

Quatre moved quickly down the hallway, alert for any sign of Duo's passing. Luckily, his choices so far had been right. The people that he passed gave indication, either by action or word, that Duo had already been by. More fortunately, Duo seemed only intent on escaping.

When Quatre burst out of the house onto the side street, he paused, looking right and left. There was nothing that he could see that would give him any indication of which direction Duo might have taken.

_Think. Where would Duo go? He's scared and confused. He's going to want to go somewhere he feels safe. But where would that be in this city? I doubt if he really has many good memories of any place around here. Just the ones with Heero. And most of those are still not very close by. _ Quatre closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember if Duo had ever mentioned a special place here in the city. Suddenly a flash of a memory came, of him and Duo talking about places to go in the city. Duo had admitted that there was a small park not far from the house that he liked to go to. That Heero had taken him there a lot, especially early in their relationship. Duo had spoken fondly of the place. _ Maybe that's where he is._

Hoping he was right, Quatre turned left and headed in the direction of the small park.

***

Trowa carefully guided Heero to a seat, pressing the piece of shirt he'd ripped off tightly against the wound. Though it was bleeding badly he didn't think that it was anything too serious.

"Heero?"

Heero heard the question behind the softly spoken word, but he didn't know if he really wanted to answer it. It would mean bringing up things that he had promised himself never to talk about. He didn't want Duo reminded of the things that had happened and so he didn't talk about much about the beginning of his ownership and relationship with the long haired slave.

Slowly he leaned back, closing his eyes and focusing on ignoring the pain. Maybe Trowa's worry for him would put the question aside.

"What happened here?" a voice demanded as the doctor walked into the room.

"Heero's been stabbed," Trowa replied. "Right shoulder."

Doc moved over to Heero's side and promptly began examining the wound. "Lot of stabbing going on around here lately. Maybe you'd best start hiding the knives."

Heero opened his eyes and glared at Doc. "It was an accident."

"Of course. Now hold still so I can see how bad it is."

Heero sighed but remained silent as Doc probed the wound. "Not too bad, but it looks like it might have nicked an artery. I'm going to pack the wound and see if we can't get the bleeding stopped before I do anything else."

"Fine."

Trowa moved to Heero's side. "Heero?"

"We'll talk about it later."

Trowa frowned but knew he'd get nothing else out of Heero right now. But he would have his answers. Soon.

***

It took Quatre nearly fifteen minutes to reach the park and another five to find out that he had been correct in his guess. Curled up in a small ball under a tree in the back of the park was Duo.

Quatre approached slowly, not wanting to scare him and make him flee again.

Finally he was within a few feet of Duo. "Duo?" he whispered softly.

"Go away," came the choked reply, though Duo didn't lift his head. "Go away and leave me alone. Why won't you just leave me alone?"

"Duo. I'm not who you think I am. That man is gone. He's been dead for several years now."

Duo's body started to rock. "He hurts me."

"Who?"

"My master."

"What is his name?"

"Kendall. Master Kendall. He sticks needles in me and makes me hurt. But I hurt him this time. I stuck a needle in him instead." Slowly Duo's head came up and he looked at his hands, which were stained with blood. "The red won't go away though. It's always there. So many. So much blood. But now it's his too. So he won't hurt me."

He looked at Quatre. "It was all right, right? To make the hurt go away. To make him go away so he won't hurt me no more. The stuff in the needles really hurt bad. And it made me do things I didn't want to do. It made my head feel funny."

Slowly he blinked and studied Quatre more closely. "Are you my angel?" he suddenly asked.

Quatre was surprised. "What?"

"Have you come to take me away? Angels do that right? Take people so they won't hurt no more. You're pretty and golden like an angel."

"No, Duo, I'm no angel. I'm a man like you. I'm Quatre, your friend."

Duo frowned. "Quatre?"

"Yes. Heero sent me to get you."

"Heero?"

"Yes, your..... friend. He was worried when you ran away. You remember Heero?"

Duo frowned again. "Heero?"

"Yes, Heero. The one who takes care of you now. The one you love.  He's very special to you, isn't he? You know he'd never do those things to you. That he would anyone who would try and hurt you. He loves you very much. Even though others still see him as your master, he doesn't. He only sees you as his life mate. His true love." Quatre held his breath, hoping that his words had penetrated the fog that seemed to have enveloped Duo's mind.

"Heero?" Duo's voice was puzzled.

Slowly Quatre saw Duo's eyes clear. After several minutes, Duo blinked and looked at Quatre with a different look in his eyes. "Quatre?" His voice was less frightened and childish than it had been.

Quatre moved slightly forward. "Yes?"

"Where am I? Why am I here? What happened?"

Quatre sighed in relief. "It's all right."

Duo looked down at his hands then back at Quatre. "What happened?" His voice was firm now, demanding answers.

Quatre looked away. He really didn't want to tell Duo what he had done. "Nothing much. You got upset and ran. Trowa had me come and get you."

"Why is there blood on my hands?"

Quatre rose to his feet. "We need to get back."

Duo also rose to his feet. "Quatre. What did I do? I don't remember anything much after leaving the palace."

Quatre sighed, knowing that Duo would press for answers. "You went to bed. You said you had a headache. When you woke up you thought you were still in the possession of your last master, Kendall. You ran to get away from him and I came after you."

"Who's blood is this?" He shoved his hand at Quatre.

Quatre looked downward. "Heero's," he whispered.

"What?"

"You thought Heero was Kendall and you attacked him. You caught him in the shoulder. Trowa stayed with him and called for the doctor even though he was more concerned for you. He was afraid you would hurt yourself."

Duo's shoulders slumped. "I hurt Heero."

"By accident."

Duo looked at Quatre, a sad look stealing across his face. "I swore I would never let that part on me touch him. But it doesn't matter. Things will never change. I...."

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." A harsh voice suddenly cut across the park. "Two little slaves all alone."

Quatre turned to find several men dressed in uniforms standing behind him. 

"Bet they've run away, heh Jordin," another one commented.

The man at the front of the group smirked. "Sure looks that way. You two got your papers?"

Quatre blinked as he heard Duo curse quietly behind him. "Papers?"

"That's what I thought. Come on you two. You know what happens to runaway slaves in this city. March."

"But...."

One guard moved forward. "Don't you do no back talking. Start walking. Or I'll make you move." 

Quatre glanced back at Duo. Duo only shrugged and started following the men. With a sigh Quatre trailed behind. _What have we gotten ourselves into now?_


	42. Chapter Forty

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Additional Warnings: Lemon in this part

Golden Lights Part Forty

By SilverLady

"Heh, heh. That's a couple of lookers you got there."

"How come you got all the luck?"

Quatre cringed at the harsh voices that called out as he and Duo were escorted through the large room. He still wasn't sure what was going on or why they had been brought here. And he was even more confused by Duo's silent resignation to the situation.

Suddenly he was shoved into a small room. "You just stay right here, pretty boy. I'll be back to 'talk' to you in a minute."

As soon as the door to the room was shut Quatre moved over to Duo, who had taken a seat on the small bench that sat against the far wall. "Duo?"

Duo didn't even look up at him, just continued to stare at his hands.

Quatre hoped that he could get Duo talking, but before he could even form a question the door to the room slammed open and two of the men from the park walked in.

The called Jordin leered at the two. "Strip. Now."

Quatre blinked at the order in surprise. _What is it with these people? Why in the world do they constantly want to see us naked?_

Duo rose silently to his feet and began removing his clothing. Quatre noticed how stiffly Duo was moving, as if he wasn't really aware of what he was doing.

Frowning Quatre began to undress. He really didn't like this, not one bit.

"Well, they ain't carrin no weapons," the other man commented as he looked the two slaves over.

Jordin stepped forward and grabbed Duo's hand. "Where did this blood come from? Taking swings at your owner, boy?"

Duo simply stood there, staring at the ground.

Jordin forced Duo's hand open, then frowned in disappointment at what he found. "Ah hell, ain't nothing but a cut on his hand."

Quatre managed to keep a straight face at the comment. When had Duo had time to cut his hand so that the blood would appear to be his.

The other man shrugged as he looked at Quatre. "Who's your master, slave?"

"Lord Trowa, sir," Quatre replied.

*Crack* "Don't you be lying to me boy. I asked you a question and I expect an answer."

Quatre slowly brought his hand up to his check, which was already turning red from the force of the hit. "I'm not lying. I...."

The man swung out again, this time with enough force to knock Quatre back into the wall. "And don't talk back either."

Quatre looked up at him, but managed to keep from saying anything more. It was becoming obvious that nothing he said would be the right response. Maybe Duo's silence was the better way to go about this.

Jordin smirked. "We'll just go have someone find out if your lying or not, boy. And if you are...." The threat was left unsaid, but Quatre had no doubt as to the man's meaning, "Why don't you holler for someone to go do that, Heril?"

Heril looked at him for a moment. "You remember what the boss said. They catch you fucking one more runaway and it'll be your job."

Jordin leered at the two boys. "Oh don't worry. I ain't gonna fuck them. Got something else in mind. Be just as fun and we won't get in no trouble."

"You sure."

"Sure am. Hurry up."

"Be right back."

Quatre shuddered at the look that the two men exchanged. What was going to happen to him?

*****

It was only a few minutes before Heril returned. "Okay, what you got planned?"

Jordin leered again. "Just wait and see." He turned and looked at Duo. "You, boy, are gonna do what I tell you, if you know what's good for you both. Got it?"

Duo slowly nodded without looking up.

"Good. Give blondie there a kiss. And make it good."

Quatre barely managed to stop his gasp of surprise. He couldn't be serious.

Duo slowly looked up. Then he turned and walked over to Quatre. There was a serious look on his face as he stopped in front of Quatre. "I'm sorry," he mouthed, before leaning in and placing his lips firmly over Quatre's.

Quatre could only gasp in surprise at what was happening. 

Duo took advantage of Quatre's shock to slip his tongue into Quatre's mouth, gently exploring the moist cavern as he deepened the kiss.

"Yeah, that's it. Make it a good one. Now give him a blow job."

Quatre barely registered the command. The voice seemed to be coming to him from some distance. Most of his attention was focused on what Duo was doing to his mouth.

Slowly Duo pulled away and ran soft lips across Quatre's chin to his neck. "Just relax and follow my lead," he whispered in Quatre's ear. 

"Duo," Quatre whimpered.

"If you wanna get out of here intact you'll play along," Duo hissed as he nuzzled Quatre's neck. "They just wanna a show. If we give them a good one they won't ask for nothing more."

"But Duo," Quatre moaned as he tossed his head back, his knees threatening to buckle at the feelings that were flooding him.

"Trust me." Duo slowly ran his mouth down Quatre's shoulder and across his chest. Breathing softly, he began to suck at Quatre's nipple, causing Quatre to moan louder. 

Duo slowly let the pert flesh slide from his mouth, then puffed a soft breath of air across it. He knew that this had to be the performance of a life time, to keep both him and Quatre from getting into serious trouble. He would draw on everything he'd been taught over the years to make Quatre enjoy this and forget why it was happening.

Moving carefully, he nibbled his way down Quatre's stomach, placing gentle kisses along the way. He knew that in a minute the two men watching him would start demanding he pick up the pace, but he was determined to keep it slow for as long as possible.

Quatre gasped and grabbed a hold of Duo's hair when he felt Duo's tongue run across the bottom of his penis. He could only stand there and moan at the strange new feelings that flooded him. Whimpering at the pain/pleasure that arced through him, Quatre began instinctively moving his hips. He was rewarded with new sensations when Duo opened his mouth and let Quatre's erection slide in. 

Duo could feel Quatre's shuddering and knew that it wouldn't take much to get the inexperienced boy off.  He simply kept himself still and let Quatre's body do what it wanted to. He just hoped it would be enough for their two spectators.

Quatre's thrusts became more erratic as he struggled with the tide rising in him. He'd never felt like this before and it frightened him. But his body would not be denied and even though his mind had little knowledge about what was happening, his body knew what it wanted. With a choked growl of surprise, Quatre climaxed.

Duo relaxed his throat at the first spasm from Quatre, simply letting the fluid run down into his stomach. He knew that Quatre was not exactly thinking coherently at that moment.

After a minute or so Quatre moaned and sank to his knees. Duo let him slide free and cushioned his collapse.

Dazed blue-green eyes looked at him. "Duo?"

Duo grinned at the blonde. "Enjoy it?" he whispered.

"What?"  
  


"First time, huh?"

"I...."

"That was pretty good," a harsh voice suddenly echoed through the room. "Now how about you two get onto the main event."

Quatre blinked in confusion as Duo cringed.

"You heard me. Start fucking."

Quatre looked at Duo. "He wants us to..." he whispered.

Duo nodded. _Damn. I was hoping it would go this far. _"It'll be all right. I'll tell you what to do."

"What?"

"You're going to have to...... have sex with me. I'll be bottom. It'll be better that way."

Quatre could only stare at Duo in shock. They couldn't be serious. He couldn't be serious. "But...."

Duo ignored the confusion in Quatre's eyes. This was not the way the blonde should be introduced to sex. He should be with someone he loved, in the private intimacy of their bedroom. Not in front of two horny guards in a small holding cell. 

"Just do what I tell you to. It will be all right."

Quatre blinked. "They want us to..... do what you and Heero were doing that one day."

"Yes."

"How?"

"Let me get on my hands and knees. You get behind me and.... first, put your finger in my hole to stretch it out a little. Then put your dick in there and do the same thing that you did to my mouth."

Quatre stared at him. It sounded so.... clinical.

Duo was already moving, sliding his hands across Quatre's body to his penis. With a few deft strokes, he had Quatre stirring back to erectness. "Come on. You can do this."

Quatre swallowed hard as he rose to his knees. He couldn't believe what Duo wanted him to do. Very slowly he reached out with one hand and touched Duo's smooth butt. Blinking, he began running his hand slowly up and down, venturing closer to the center and the hidden entrance with each pass.

Duo twisted his head around to watch what Quatre was doing. He had to admit that the slowly cautious exportation was a turn on, but he knew that the two men wanted fucking, not fondling. "Quatre," he hissed. "Do it."

Quatre shifted so that he was more behind Duo. Reaching forward, he cautiously touched Duo with a trembling finger. "Duo," he whispered.

"Do it. Push it inside me."

Very slowly Quatre applied pressure, watching with a detached sort of fascination as the hole opened and granted his finger access.   

Duo moaned and shoved backwards, forcing the finger deeper into his body. Lowering his head, he shifted forward to let the finger slide back out.

Quatre could only stare as Duo started humping his finger. Was this what he was supposed to be doing? It looked kinda uncomfortable to him, and Duo seemed really tight around his finger. He looked down at his erection. How was he supposed to get that into him without hurting him.

"Another one," Duo gasped, thrusting back. He'd forgotten all about their audience.

Quatre blinked. "What?"

"Another finger. Put in another finger."

Quatre did as he was told, adding a second finger. Duo shoved himself back and took both fingers into his body.  "Spread them apart," he instructed, moaning as he felt Quatre obey. It was still gonna be a tight fit, but.... "Now take them out and put your dick in their place."

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it."

Quatre reluctantly pulled his fingers free, spreading them as far apart as he could while doing so. He didn't want to hurt Duo, but didn't know how to make it easier. Certainly there was a way to make it smoother. He looked down at himself and frowned a little. Maybe if he spread some of the fluid weeping from his dick onto himself and Duo that would help a little.

Duo gasped when he felt Quatre's fingers return, this time with something on them. Suddenly he realized what Quatre was trying to do. He closed his eyes at the feel of Quatre trying to make things better. "Do it," he hissed. "Please, Quatre. Just do it."

Quatre sighed in resignation as he drew himself close to Duo. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No," Duo sighed. "I am."

With a soft whimper Quatre pressed forward, feeling Duo slowly open to him. After a moment Duo surged backwards, taking all of Quatre into himself. Quatre gasped at the tight heat that suddenly engulfed his erection. He'd never felt anything like this. Even Duo's talented mouth paled in comparison to the tight cavern that now held him. With a groan he leaned forward across Duo's back, nuzzling at Duo's neck.

Duo sighed when he felt Quatre enter him. It wasn't really that bad. It wasn't Heero, but it wasn't like the others had been. "Move Quatre."

"Huh?"

"Thrust. Pull out and then push back in. Fuck me."

Quatre groaned at Duo's last words but his body obeyed. Gasping for air he began to move, thrusting into the tight heat before drawing out again. Within moments he was pushing franticly, racing toward a peak that seemed just out of reach.

"Duo."

"Grab me."

"What?"

"Wrap your hands around my dick," Duo gasped. He moaned when Quatre did what he told him to. Closing his eyes, Duo began thrusting into the tight grip. He knew it wouldn't take much to get him off, not the way Quatre was hitting that spot inside him with every thrust.

"Oh, god," he gasped. "Quatre now. Do it. Come in me. Oh, god, I'm gonna....." With a soft wail, Duo's body spasmed as he shot thick ropes of fluid into Quatre's hands and onto the floor beneath him.

Quatre moaned when Duo's body suddenly tightened around him. With a cry of surprise he toppled over the edge, his body shaking as he exploded deep within the confines of Duo's body. "Oh, Great One," he moaned as he collapsed over Duo.

Duo sighed as he left Quatre's weight carry him to the ground. _I'm sorry Heero. Trowa. I had to._

Quatre pressed his face against Duo's neck, inhaling the deep musk of Duo and trying to calm his trembling body. If this was what sex was like with a friend, he didn't even want to think of what it would be like with someone he was in love with. He now fully understood what Duo had meant. Slowly he closed his eyes, feeling Duo's shaking form beneath him. "I'm sorry Duo."

"No, I am. It was my fault." Duo sighed and was still.

Quatre felt Duo growing still beneath him. With a sigh Quatre let his mind drift away, ignoring the men in the room. _If they want anything else, they'll just have to wait. _


	43. Chapter Forty One

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Forty One

By SilverLady

Warmth. It was the first thing that penetrated Duo's senses. A soft, gentle warmth spreading across his back and neck.

Blinking sleepily, Duo turned his head to one side, trying to sort out what was going on.

Then other things began to make themselves noticeable. The harsh sounds of voices, the sharp smell of sweat, the lightly ghosting of air across his neck. 

With a low groan, Duo buried his face in the crook of his arm, remembering what had happened. 

"Well, well," a harsh voice cut through the air. "Looks like our sleeping beauties are starting to stir." Duo felt a foot probe his side. "Come on you two, get up. You ain't done yet."

Duo felt a shudder run through the body that still covered his. "Duo?" a confused voice whispered in his ear.

Duo was shoved more roughly. "Up. Now. I wanna see you fuck blondie now."

Quatre whimpered softly as he slid off of Duo. They couldn't be serious. Hadn't they done enough already? He couldn't believe what had happened so far. How was he going to face Heero after this? How was he going to look him in the eye and tell him what he had done? That he had, for all intents and purposes, raped Duo. And that, to his shame, he had enjoyed it far more than he should have. _Oh Great One, take me now._

But his fevered plea was ignored. He felt Duo stirring beside him even as the words sank into his fogged mind. 

"Duo?" he whispered.

Slowly, blue-violet eyes turned to look at him. There was resignation in them, as well as a hint of sorrow. "Just…." Duo closed his eyes then, not really knowing what to tell the boy beside him. If he ignored the guards' orders there was no telling what might happen to them. But if he listened then he would be hurting the gentle boy that he valued as a friend. How could he even consider doing what they demanded. __

_Because if you don't, then one of them will.__ Better it be you, who can be gentle with him that one of them who will hurt him just for the fun of it._

Duo winced at the logic of the voice in his head. He hated being logical.

"Just relax," he whispered as he reached for the blonde. "And forgive me."

*****

Richel jumped up in shock at the angry figure that stormed into the office. "Sir?!"

"Where the hell are my slaves?"

"Sir?" Richel could only stare at the angry young man in confusion. There had been several slaves brought in that day.

"Lord Trowa," a voice said behind him as Grendin walked up. He had served on the guard for many years and recognized the man immediately. "May I help you?"

Trowa turned angry eyes on the older man, causing the younger man to sigh with relief. "I was informed that one of my slaves and on belonging to Lord Heero were brought here. I want them returned immediately. And I want to know why they weren't brought directly to me when they were found."

"Lord Trowa, runaway slave are….."

"They weren't runaways. And no matter, they should have been returned to me at once. I will handle any punishment that needs to be dealt out."

"But they had no papers on them."

"Were they not asked where they belonged? I would think so since someone came to me. Why weren't they brought along? What harm would to unarmed slaves do?"

"But they could have been lying."

"So. They still should have been brought to me. I do not appreciate my slaves being treated in such a manner." Trowa drew himself up to his full height. He had been beyond furious when he'd been informed that Duo and Quatre were being held at the Guards Quarters near his home. And he'd been damn scared as well, knowing full well what some guards would do to a runaway. He hadn't even told Heero where there were, afraid of what his reaction would be. 

"My lord, I…"

"Where are they?"

"This way, my lord. They are being held in one of the detention cells."

"Lead me to them, now."

"Of course, my lord. Follow me."

Trowa followed the man down the hall, his eyes dark with anger. If anything had happened to either one of them…..

"If you don't start fucking blondie right this minute, I'm gonna take that hank of hair and….." an angry voice suddenly came from one of the rooms.

With a growl of pure fury Trowa shoved the door to the room open. The sight that met his eyes had him seeing red. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he roared. He had never been so angry in his life.

It was hard to say who jumped higher, the guard that was reaching for Duo or Quatre, who gave a high pitched cry of surprise before ducking behind Duo. Even Duo was blinking in surprise at the unexpected level of Trowa's roar. He'd never heard Trowa raise his voice before.

"Get these two bastards out of my sight this instant," Trowa demanded, the level of his voice barely lowered. "And I want them punished fully. How dare you allow such things to happen?"

Grendin immediately grabbed the two guards and hauled them from the room. "What were you two told about messing with the slaves?" he demanded as they disappeared down the hall.

Trowa looked at Duo and Quatre. "Are you two all right?" he asked, his voice calm.

He was surprised when Duo slowly sank to the ground as if his strings had been cut. Burying his face in his hands he began to rock slowly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he murmured brokenly.

Trowa moved slowly forward, his noise detecting the sharp tang of sweat and sex. "What happened?"

Quatre looked at Trowa fearfully, trying not to hide himself in shame. "Master, I…."

Trowa grabbed a blanket and handed it to Quatre, then took another one and wrapped it gently around Duo's shaking shoulders. "Just tell me what happened. What did they do to you?"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't."

Duo looked up then, pain and sorrow in his eyes. "Wasn't his fault. It was mine. Shouldn't have run. Made it worse. Always make it worse. Hurt him. Hurt Heero. Hurt everyone." His voice was broken and reedy, as if it took all he had just to form the words.

Trowa carefully gathered the long haired boy to him. "It's all right Duo." He looked up at Quatre. "What did they do to you?"

"I….They made me….." Quatre hung his head in shame. "I raped Duo," he whispered.

Duo shook his head violently. "No! It wasn't….."

Trowa looked at the two, understanding what wasn't being said. "Let's go home. We'll sort it out there. And I will see that those two are severely punished for what they did. They had no right."

Quatre sighed as he pulled the blanket more tightly around him. "But…."

Trowa looked at him calmly. "Do not blame yourself for what happened. If any one is to be blamed it is me, for putting you in such a situation in the first place.  I am sorry."

"No," Duo whispered. 

Trowa helped Duo to stand. "We'll argue about blame later. Let's get out of here."

As they walked towards the door, Grendin reappeared. "Sir, some clothes for them so that they don't have to leave here wrapped in blankets."

Trowa took the offered bundles. "Thank you."

Grendin bowed. "Please accept my humblest of apologies. This should have never happened and I am ashamed that it did. I know that I cannot rectify the mistakes made and the hurt done to your slaves, but I will see that those responsible are harshly punished and that it will never be allowed happen again."

Trowa nodded slightly. "I hope not." He handed the bundles to Duo and Quatre. "Go get dressed. Then we'll go home and sort through what happened."

Quatre sighed as he took the offered clothes and made sure Duo also took some. He was afraid of what would happen when they got home. How could Duo bear to be near him, after what he had done? Would their friendship possibly survive such a cruel test? And how would Trowa feel about him, now that he was no longer pure, but stained with the blood of a friend, no matter how it was forced upon him? _Oh Great one, why? Why did this happen? Why?_


	44. Chapter Forty Two

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master  
Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?  
Rating: R (?)  
Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.  
Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very mucha 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read.

Golden Lights Part Forty-Two  
By SilverLady

The ride home was made in silence. Trowa made no effort to get either of the slaves to talk to him, though he knew that there was much to discuss. Just the behavior of the two told him that. He just hoped that when all was said and done, the friendships that had begun to grow were not torn apart.

He wasn't angry with either of them, though it was a cruel and harsh way to introduce Quatre to sex. He just hoped that the experience didn't adversely affect Quatre's views on the matter. He still wanted to see if there was some way he and Quatre could work out an arrangement. That kiss had indicated that Quatre was at least a little bit interested. Now his plans would have to be put on hold.

He was furious at the guardsmen that had instigated the encounter. He had already come up with several ways of dealing with those two men, though the simplest way was just to tell Heero what had happened. He knew that would be as good as signing their death warrants. No one was allowed to hurt his Duo and they had hurt Duo more than if they had been the ones to take him.

Quatre kept throwing worried little glances at Duo, who sat huddled in one corner of the carriage. He was upset and scared. Scared at what Duo thought of him, scared of what Heero would do when he found out, and terrified of what Trowa would think of him. Even as it had been happening a small part of him had been horrified. Especially at the fact that he had enjoyed it. He had liked the feel of Duo's body beneath him and surrounding him. It was his best friend and he was raping him, and he had liked it. Those were the thoughts that kept running through his head.

How he must hate me. He won't even look at me. He just sits there like a lost child. How could I hurt him like that? And how could I be so sick as to enjoy it? What is wrong with me? Why? Oh, Duo, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.

Duo, though, was oblivious to the looks thrown his way by Quatre or the calm watching statement on Trowa's face. He had buried his face in his knees and wrapped his arms around them, trying to close the world away.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I knew it was wrong. I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry.

Trowa watched as Duo slipped quietly down the hall. He hoped that Heero could help the boy get past what had happened. All of it.

After a moment he turned to Quatre, who was almost cowering in one corner of the hall. "Don't you think you should go get cleaned up," he said softly.

Quatre looked up in shock. "Master?"

"Go ahead. We do need to talk, but you'll feel a little better if you clean up. Plus that will give Duo and Heero time to talk first. Meet me in the small dining room in two hours." He smiled faintly at the boy. "It will be all right. I'm not angry with you. You did nothing wrong."

"But-"

Trowa took Quatre's face in his hands. "You did nothing wrong." His voice was firm.

Quatre lowered his eyes. "Yes, Master."

But Trowa could hear the doubt in that quiet voice. "Go on. I'll see you later."

With a small nod Quatre turned and left.

Duo peeked quietly around the door. He could see the sleeping form of Heero from this vantage point. If he was very quiet he could slip into the room, get a few of his things, and be gone before Heero even knew that he'd been there. He'd sleep in his old bed for the night. Then he would have to wait and see how much longer he would be allowed to stay here.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He should have known that things were too good to last. How could he have allowed himself to believe?

With a sigh he crept into the room. He was just a few steps from the small chest that held his things when the voice interrupted him.

"Duo."

He froze and closed his eyes. No.

Slowly he turned around to find Heero sitting up in the bed, dark blue eyes watching him. Duo's own eyes immediately went to the stark white bandages that covered Heero's shoulder and chest.

Relief flooded Heero as he gazed at the still boy before him. He had been so afraid that Duo would hurt himself before Quatre could catch him. But he could detect no signs of injuries. "You're back. I've been waiting for you."

Duo lowered his eyes to the floor. His body was shaking so badly he didn't know how much longer he could stand. He just wanted to get his things and get out. Before the calm voice became harsh with anger.

Heero frowned when Duo made no move to come to him or to even speak. "Duo, what's wrong? Come here, please."

Duo looked up slowly. "Master?" he whispered.

Heero frowned at the word. Moving carefully, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain that ran across his shoulder and chest. "What's wrong? Duo, I was so worried. Please come here."

Duo started shaking even harder. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'll just get my things and be gone." Slowly he sank to the ground, wrapping his arm around himself as he tried to choke back the tears.

Heero was out of the bed and across the room, trying to gather the sobbing boy to him. "Duo." His voice was full of anguish at seeing Duo in such a state. "Don't cry. Please don't cry."

Duo tried to avoid Heero. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'm sorry. Please. Don't hate me. I'm sorry."

Finally Heero managed to get a hold of Duo with his good hand. Carefully he forced Duo to look at him. "It's not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for. It was an accident. You didn't realize who I was. I could never hate you, Duo. I love you."

Duo shook his head. "I hurt you. I swore I would never let that part of me n ear you, but I did. And look what happened. I wanted to kill you. I could have killed you. You're better off without me." Duo closed his eyes and buried his face in Heero's uninjured shoulder. "And I hurt Quatre. You should just kill me and be done with it. I should have died a long time ago. No one is safe with Shinigami. I-"

Heero wrapped his arm around Duo, holding him as tightly as he could. "If you were to leave me, then there would be nothing left of me. You are so much a part of me that I would die without you. And it is all of you that I love."

"But..."

Heero tilted Duo's face back up. "I've known about Shinigami since I brought you into my life. I didn't fear him then and I don't fear him now. I know it's hard, but I did promise to help you fight him and I will. I won't let you run at the first sign of trouble. I don't blame you for what happened. You were tired, scared and confused. You reacted as you were trained to." Heero smiled a little. "I'm glad to see you can still defend yourself. And you know if there was any way I could take away the pain and the memories I would do so in an instant. Quit blaming yourself for everything that happens. I should have been more careful about waking you. I know how things can be at times."

"But..."

"And you can get that notion of leaving right out of you head. I am not letting you go, ever."

Tears slid down Duo's face as he looked up at Heero. "But next time I could..."

"I'll worry about next time if and when it happens." He gently cupped Duo's cheek with his hand. Leaning forward he brushed a gentle kiss across Duo's lips. "But that is in the future and this is now." He sighed, drawing a deep breath and inhaling the unique sent that was Duo. Then he frowned, detecting something not quite right in the scent. "Duo?"

Duo had closed his eyes at Heero's gentle kiss. "Yes?" he whispered.

"What happened to you?"

Duo looked up. "What?"

Heero looked at him, anger growing in his eyes. "What happened? After you left here. Quatre went after you. I want to know what happened." He rose to his feet, drawing Duo with him. He noticed the hint of fear that flashed across Duo's face, along with a look of... discomfort.

Heero began running his hands across Duo's arms and chest. "Did someone hurt you?"

Duo lowered his head again. "No."

"Then why do you smell like sex?"

Duo buried his face in Heero's chest. "It wasn't his fault."

"What happened? Tell me. So I know who to go and kill."

Duo started shaking again. "Quatre tracked me down. I didn't even know who he was. He just kept talking to me until I remembered. But he shouldn't have followed me. He didn't have any papers with him. There were two guards. They found us and took us back to their Quarters. They..."

"Duo?"

"They made us..."

Heero waited patiently, but his anger was growing at the guardsmen that had dared hurt his Duo.

"They made us have sex. I had Quatre take me cause I knew it would be better. They wanted me to do the same thing to Quatre but Trowa showed up in time. It wasn't his fault. It was all my idea. I..."

Heero rested his chin on the top of Duo's head. "Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"Did you enjoy it?"

Duo was quiet.

"Duo?"

"It would have been nice if those guards hadn't been watching. But Quatre shouldn't have had to go through that. If I hadn't..."

"Duo."

"Yeah?"

"What happened to the guards?"

"I don't know. I think somebody said they were gonna get punished but I wasn't really paying much attention."

Heero gritted his teeth. He would deal with those two bastards later. Slowly he began to lead Duo across the room.

At first, Duo didn't realize they were moving. "Huh, where are we going?"

"To the bath. You need to get cleaned up. I'm sure Trowa would like to find out what is going on."

"Huh, now."

Heero laughed softly. "It will be all right, my Shinigami."

Duo sighed but let Heero lead him into the bath.

Heero barely looked up at the light tap on the door. Glancing at the still future curled up in his bed, he rose to his feet and headed for the door.

Opening it quietly he was not surprised to Trowa standing on the other side. He slipped through the door and into the hall. "He's asleep."

"Is he all right?"

Heero shrugged. "For the moment. Where's Quatre?"

"Also asleep. I found him drifting off in the tub."

"That's what did Duo in."

Trowa sighed. "We need to talk."

"I know. Let's go to your sitting room."

Trowa nodded. "Will he be okay?"

"He'll sleep at least eight hours. He'll be fine."

"Sounds like this isn't the first time this has happened."

Heero sighed. He knew Trowa deserved some straight answers, explanations for what had happened. Especially since his own personal slave had been dragged into it. "It's not."

Trowa stepped aside and let Heero enter the room first. Following him in, he was pleased to see that the meal he had ordered was already in place. "Hungry?"

Heero sighed as he sat down. "Maybe a little."

Trowa frowned. "Hurting?"

"Some." He watched Trowa for a moment as he got them each a plate of food. "I know you have questions. Ask."

"What happened?"

"Duo... To understand you have to know a little bit about him and what his last master was like. Actually, it started with his very first master. Duo was found wandering outside the town of Maxwell. The guy that picked him up named him Duo because he was the second boy he'd gotten that day. Just a weird quirk of a man that collected and sold little boys.

"He was bought by a man named Quillian. The guy was absolutely paranoid. He was convinced that everyone was out to get him, so he decided he need the perfect bodyguard and assassin. Someone that no one would ever suspect of being capable of such actions."

"Duo."

"He was only four at the time. Can you imagine teaching a four year old to be a killer? But it was the last bastard that owned him that really messed him up. He'd already gotten the nickname of Shinigami by then, after his master died under mysterious circumstances. I don't really know if he killed him or not. He's never said, but I don't think so. He did kill Kendall though. I know that for a fact and I don't blame him."

"That's who he thought you were?"

"Yes." Heero paused for a moment, his hands tightening as he tried to contain the anger he still felt for the cold bastard that had so hurt Duo. "Kendall liked to play. With a lot of different things. He wanted to take his little killer and make him even better. Duo still wasn't completely trained in his opinion. He wanted a cold hearted machine, not a human. So he tried to make Duo into on, by drugging him. Duo still doesn't talk much about it, but I've gathered some from what he says now and then, mostly when he doesn't know who or where he is. The drugs were designed to wipe Duo's personality from his mind. To make him a cold emotionless killer that would obey Kendall's every order. But they had an adverse affect on him. Instead of wiping his personality out, it made it split into two. Duo and Shinigami. Usually, the Shinigami side of him is deeply buried, but sometimes something will trigger it. Usually a bad dream or a bad fright. And Shinigami only knows two things. Kill and run. Kendall ended up regretting it. When he tried to correct his mistake with more drugs, Duo turned on him. To keep him from hurting him anymore he killed him. Or actually, Shinigami did.

"Sometimes though, even when the Duo side comes back, it's not quite right. He'll often forget now and only remember the before. He becomes more lost child than anything. A scared twelve year old that doesn't understand why Kendall can hurt him so much."

"So he thought you were Kendall, tried to kill him again and then ran away."

"Basically."

"Heero..."

Heero sighed. "I've been working with him and we've gotten the Shinigami side of his personality just about gone. But with all the stress of the past few months, it was not surprising to see it surface again. And he'll punish himself for letting it go. I just have to convince him that it wasn't as bad as he thinks. I know that it could happen and I know that it is probably me that it is going to be focused on. I just hope that one day; Duo can just be Duo, without having to worry about the killer lurking in his soul."

Trowa nodded. "As long as he doesn't threaten anyone else."

"He won't."

"I believe you." Trowa was quiet for a moment. "He told you what else happened."

"That those bastards forced him and Quatre to perform sexual acts for their enjoyment."

"I guess he did."

"I want those two on a spit."

"Heero."

"They presumed to do things to my Duo and to hurt and humiliate him and Quatre. That was no way for that boy to lose his virginity. Especially since he's not even complete certain about how he feels about it."

Trowa arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Heero smirked. "I'm not completely oblivious. His own stand on same sex relationships are based on what he was taught and he's finding those teachings not so... believable now. But he should make his own decisions not be forced into it to please a couple of sick bastards."

He looked at Trowa. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know for certain. He's afraid Duo will hate him and you will want to rip his manhood off for defiling Duo. In his mind, he raped Duo. Even though he was forced into it and Duo wanted it to happen that way. He's going to have to deal with it in his own way. This isn't something I can make go away."

"I'll make sure he knows I'm not angry at him. If he hadn't something even worse could have happened. Which is probably what Duo was thinking."

"Is Duo all right with it?"

"He said it would have been nice, if it hadn't been for those bastards watching."

Trowa nodded. "I think that is part of Quatre's problem. He sees it as a rape, but I think he also enjoyed what happened."

"From what I found when I cleaned Duo off, I'd say so. At least enough to come."

"That's what I thought. The best thing to do, I think, is just let them work it out for themselves."

"I agree. I just hope that they can."

"So do I."

"And those bastards?"

"Will regret they day they laid eyes on either one of them."

Heero grinned evilly. "Good."


	45. Chapter Forty Three

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Forty Three

By SilverLady

Quatre crept quietly down the hall, hoping that he wouldn't run into either Duo or Heero. It had been two days since the incident at the Guards Quarters and so far he had not actually seen either of them. He was still very afraid of what either one of them would do to him for his role in what had happened. So afraid that his dreams had been filled with imagined scenarios that had kept him from getting any real rest.

With a sigh, he scrubbed his hand across his face. He was exhausted, mentally and physically, but he could calm his thought enough to get any decent sleep. Added to the fact that his appetite was nil and it bode no good for his health.

_I know I should go and find something to eat, but I'm not really very hungry. And what would I do if Duo was there. I don't think I can bear to face him. He must hate me for what I did. He has to know that I… I liked it. How could he not? I certainly grunted and groaned loud enough._ Quatre sobbed softly. The guilt he was feeling was slowly tearing him apart.

He was so immersed in his misery that he failed to see the figure that came out of the door in front of him. In fact, he didn't realized that there was anyone there until he ran into them.

Quatre blinked as he stared at the chest in front of him. _Bandages. There are bandages on this chest. Oh, Great One, no!_

Slowly he looked up into the calm blue eyes of one Heero Yuy.

"Forgive me," he whispered, just before his eyes rolled back and he passed out at Heero's feet.

****

Heero frowned as he knelt down beside the still slave's body. He'd been rather surprised to literally run into the small blonde. He knew that the boy had been consciously avoiding him for the past two days, a fact that was beginning to annoy him.

After making sure that Quatre had not hurt himself when he fell, Heero carefully lifted the boy and reentered the room he had just left.

"That was quick. I thought….." Duo feel silent when he saw the burden that Heero was carrying. "What happened?"

Heero sighed as he laid the unconscious boy on the bed next to Duo. "I ran into him in the hall. Literally. He looked up at me then passed out. I think I scared him."

Duo smiled slight as he shook his head. "Hope he didn't wet himself."

Heero laughed softly as he looked over at Duo. Although he had been the one hurt, he had insisted that Duo remain in bed for a few days. He wanted to make sure that Duo had fully recovered from the incident before letting him be around others again. Sometimes, after an episode, Shinigami tried to make unexpected appearances for several days. This time it hadn't happened though. Heero took it as a good sign that Duo was winning the war with himself.

Duo reached out and brushed a bandaged hand across Quatre's forehead, pushing the bangs out of the boy's eyes. When Heero had realized what Duo had done to his hands he had immediately gathered up the things he would need to wrap them properly. Duo had been amazed at how careful and tender Heero had been. He still couldn't quite understand how Heero had so easily forgiven him for what he had done.

He frowned slightly. "We still need to talk with him. And he's been avoiding us like we have the plague."

"Or he does."

Duo nodded. "That might be closer to the truth." He looked over at his lover. "But how are we going to convince him he didn't do anything wrong?"

Heero reached out and ran his hand down Duo's face. "Do you believe me, when I say that you did nothing wrong?"

Duo blinked at him. "But… that's…."

"No it isn't. Neither one of you can forgive yourself for what happened. And until that happens, nothing I say will change it and nothing you say will change him."

Duo sighed, knowing that Heero was right. "How did you get so… observant?"

"I fell in love with my slave. And for all he shows the world, he is really a very secretive person."

Duo laughed softly. "You didn't know that owning a slave would be so complicated."

"It isn't. But I bought a slave with a lot of bad memories and a lot of hidden pain."

Duo looked at him, surprise written on his face. He hadn't truly realized just how much Heero understood him. "Heero."

"And I thank the stars for the day he walked into my life and turned it upside down."

Duo blushed and ducked his head. Heero was being so tender and loving with him, it was almost scary. 

Before he could answer though, there was a knock on the door. "Heero? Are you in here?" Trowa's voice called through the door.

"Come on in, Trowa. It's open."

"I didn't want to interrupt," Trowa said as he walked in the door. "But have you seen Quatre? I sent him on an errand and he hasn't come back. I was…." He stopped talking as he realized who was lying in the bed with Duo. "Oh, I guess you have. What happened?"

"He walked into me, looked up and passed out," Heero stated matter-of-factly.

"He scared him," Duo added

"Just about everything scares him lately," Trowa admitted as he sat down. "And I know he's not sleeping or eating very well."

Duo sighed. "I kinda figured that. We really have to talk."

Trowa nodded. "Why don't you just leave him where he is until he wakes up? That way you won't have to track him down."

Heero nodded. "Sounds all right with me." He glanced at Duo, who also nodded. "But I need to talk to you about something that has come up, which is where I was headed when I ran into Quatre."

Trowa smiled at the droll way Heero said the last part. "Let's go over to the office. I'm sure Duo can keep an eye on Quatre for awhile."

"Sure, no problem. It's not like I'm going anywhere or have anything pressing to do but sleep. Not until my master says I can leave the bed."

Trowa arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. "We'll be back in a little while."

"Take your time."

Heero leaned over and brushed his lips across Duo's forehead. "I'll make you enjoy being in that bed, later."

"Promise?"

"Of course." With a smirk, he turned and followed Trowa from the room.

Duo sighed happily as he leaned back against the pillows.

****

Quatre sighed and wrinkled his nose. He was so comfortable and warm, but something kept disturbing his sleep. An annoying tickle under his nose. 

Reaching out to slap it away, he froze when his hand came in contact with something solid and warm. Instantly awake he opened his eyes to find out what it was.

Another chest, this one smooth and unmarred. Looking up slowly, Quatre realized he was looking at Duo Maxwell's sleeping face. _Oh, no. I'm in bed with Duo. How? Quatre looked down frantically, relived to find that he was still clothed._

"About time you woke up," a voice rumbled under his ear.

With a startle squawk, Quatre flung himself backwards. A mistake, since he was lying on a bed. With a thud, he landed heavily on the floor.

Duo leaned over the bed and looked down at Quatre. "Are you all right?"

Quatre tried to untangle himself from the blanket that he had dragged over the side with him. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I don't know why I wound up here? I…."

Duo reached over and stilled Quatre's movements. "Quatre, calm down. You passed out after you ran into Heero and he brought you in here."

Quatre looked up at Duo, afraid of what he would see. But instead of the hate he expected, there was only concern and warmth. 

Duo was shocked when Quatre looked up at him and then burst into tears. Reacting quickly, he slid off the bed and gathered the weeping boy into his arms. "It's okay. Everything will be all right," he murmured softly as he rocked Quatre's shaking form.

"I'm sorry," Quatre wailed as he buried his head in Duo's neck. "I didn't want to. I didn't. I couldn't help it. I'm so sorry."

Duo ran a soothing hand down Quatre's back. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

Quatre jerked back and looked up at Duo. "How can you say that? I raped you,"  He started crying again. "I raped you and I liked it. It felt good and I….."

"Quatre, you didn't rape me. I asked you to take me. And I enjoyed it too. If those guards hadn't have been there it would have been a very enjoyable encounter."

"But…"  
  


"Quatre, it's all right. We did what we had to. There is no telling what those men might have done otherwise. I would have rather introduced you to sex in a very different setting, but… I'm glad it was you."

Quatre sniffled and rubbed his face on his arm. "You're not mad at me?"

"No." 

"And Heero's not mad at me?"

"No. He knows why it happened."

"You don't think it was awful of me to like it?"

"I'm glad you liked it. It could have been a whole lot better, but it could have been a whole lot worse too."

"Do you think Trowa hate me?"

"No, he doesn't. He's worried about you."

"But I'm not a virgin anymore. How….."

"I don't think that will bother him much."

Quatre blinked. "But you are supposed to go to your mate pure."

"If that was true then I'd sure be screwed."

"What?"

Duo tilted Quatre's face up so that the blonde was looking at him. "I told you that Heero was far from my first…. sexual encounter. If being pure was that important then I would have lost him. It's not the condition of your body that's important, it's the feelings in your soul. Trowa may not be 'The One', but don't let old notions ruin any chance you might have with him." Duo smiled. "And if you liked what you did with me, then imagine how much fun you could have with him."

Quatre blushed at Duo's words. "I…."

"Don't worry about it now. There's plenty of time to think about that later. Why don't you climb back up in the bed and get some more sleep. I bet you could use it."

"You're not afraid…."

"Quatre, believe me, if anything like that happens I intend to enjoy it."

Quatre turned even redder, but allowed Duo to pull him back into the bed.

Duo ran a soothing hand up and down Quatre's back as he pulled him close. "It's all right, Little One. Sleep. I'll protect you."

Quatre sighed as he let sleep steal over him again.

"I'll protect you, even from myself."


	46. Chapter Forty Four

Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. 

Golden Lights Part Forty Four

By SilverLady

Quatre stood in front of the large closet, frowning at the array of clothing before him. Even when he had been the pampered son of the Chief he'd never had so many different outfits. He swore Trowa could wear something different every day and it would still take him years to wear everything he owned once. He really didn't understand the need for so many different sets of clothing.

With a soft huff, he continued searching through the clothing. Trowa had told him he was going out to dinner and needed something to wear. 

It had been four months since their return to Macir and things had returned to normal, mostly. There had been some hitches in the road but nothing serious. But Quatre still felt at times as if he'd dodged a serious lightning bolt.

The incident between him and Duo had not hurt their friendship, for which Quatre was extremely grateful. He genuinely liked the long-haired slave and found him easy to talk to. They had spent many long hours together, especially when Heero and Trowa were busy with affairs of state, talking and learning more about each other.  Out of their talks had come a bond of deep respect and admiration, one that would see them both through bouts of sadness, loneliness, depression and even at time, anger. Quatre had helped Duo deal with the guilt he felt over his attack on Heero and Duo had been someone that Quatre could talk to about his growing attraction to the man that owned him.

"Are you done, yet?" A voice startled Quatre out of him musings. "Or are you going to stand there all day?"

Quatre spun around to glare at Duo, who was standing in the door. "Get me something to wear, he says. I'm having dinner with my uncle, he says. What in the blazes am I supposed to get out? He has more clothes than all the women in my tribe combined. And I think you could toss the men in as well."

Duo laughed as he walked over to the closet. "I would think you would have this down by now."

"Usually he points and says 'I'll wear that.' That I can handle. But to have to choose something for him." Quatre paused and shook his head. "I don't know. There are so many rules for what to wear and how to wear it and when to wear it. I can't keep it straight. In my tribe, you picked the light weight cloth when it was hot and the heavy one when it was cold. You might have a couple of changes for variety, but not like this."

Duo smiled as he leaned around Quatre. "He's going to dinner with his uncle?"

"That's what he said."

"Is it formal?"

Quatre frowned for a moment. "He didn't say it was."

"Then it probably isn't. Which means it will be less than twenty people. Just an intimate dinner."

Quatre rolled his eyes.

"Did he say anything about who was going to be there?"

"No. He did say that I don't have to go."

Duo nodded. Looking at several different outfits, he finally settled on one. "This one will work. Formal enough to be in the presence of the king, but not too formal."

Quatre shook his head again. "I really don't know how you do it."

"Practice. Though Heero is a lot easier to dress. He only has a few specific preferences and he sticks to them. Trowa has a tendency to stick more closely with the latest fashions. He has to, being the nephew of the king. A lot of the things he has in here are out of fashion and he won't wear them. Stick with the things in this front section of the closet and pay attention to how formal the event is. Most of his casual stuff is on the this side and ranges up to his full court uniform on this other side."

Quatre sighed. "I'll never remember that."

"Sure you will, just pay attention to what he pulls out and what he's going to that day. You'll figure it out quick enough."

"Quatre! Where are you!?" Trowa's voice carried into the room.

Quatre gathered up the clothing Duo had picked. "Thank you."

"No problem. Better hurry. He's probably getting to that 'I'm going to be late' stage."

Quatre smiled a little has he dashed from the room.

*****

Quatre sat quietly, reading the papers in front of him. When Trowa had discovered just how extensive Quatre's knowledge of horses was, he assigned the blonde the task of overseeing the purchase of all new horses, plus the care of the ones already in his possession. Though Quatre knew that there were some that were not happy with the responsibility given to a mere slave, he had worked hard to prove himself worthy of the task. 

He was so deeply engrossed in the papers that he jumped a good foot in the air when the bell above his bed began to ring.

Frowning he set the paper he had been reading down and rose to his feet. _It's awful late. I wonder what is wrong?_

Sighing quietly, he headed down the hall that led to Trowa's rooms.

*****

Trowa looked up as Quatre entered the room, pleased at how quickly the blonde had responded to his summons and making note of the fact that he didn't appear to have been to bed yet.

"You are up late," Trowa commented as he started to remove his jacket.

Quatre moved quickly across the room and helped Trowa to undress. What had once been a task that had bothered him greatly, now was almost an automatic habit. Quatre had found that serving Trowa wasn't the horrible thing he had once thought it to be. In fact, though he would never say it out loud, he actually enjoyed serving Trowa and trying to anticipate the other man's needs. It gave him great pride to accomplish a task quickly and effectively. 

"I was just going over some purchase orders, Master."

Trowa cringed at the use of the word. He still hadn't gotten Quatre to stop saying that. "They could have waited till morning."

"Then I would have been asleep when you got home," Quatre pointed out calmly as he took the jacket and folded it carefully. It would be sent out to be cleaned now that Trowa had worn it, but Quatre still wanted to be neat. "And who would have helped you get ready for bed?"

Trowa glared. "I am perfectly capable of getting myself ready for bed."

"I know, Master, but isn't that my job. That is why you purchased me, right?" Quatre's words were bland, with no sign of bitterness or anger in them, but Trowa still winced.

Quatre turned and began to help Trowa remove his shirt. He wouldn't admit just what helping Trowa dress and undress did to him. He found his growing attraction to his master harder and harder to ignore. He frowned slightly. _Pun intended. _

"Actually," Trowa spoke up, interrupting Quatre's thoughts. "That isn't why I called for you. Apparently my uncle is opening negotiations with Lord Dermal of Milder and he wants me to go."

"When, Master?"

"As soon as possible. I figured on taking Heero with me. He's good to have glaring at my back. Dermal can be a royal snob at times and the only thing he listens to is a good glare." 

Quatre smiled slightly. That was one thing Heero was definitely very good at. "Just Heero and Duo, Master?"

"Yes. And since the roads we'll be taking are well traveled, we'll be using one of the carriages."

"Of course, Master. Would you like me to prepare everything?"

"Yes."

"I will start first thing in the morning, Master. We should be ready to leave in a couple of days. I will need to make sure that everything is in proper working order."

"Of course. It's not a 'leave yesterday' emergency, but it is also not a 'whenever you get around to it' thing either."

"I understand, Master." Quatre stepped back from Trowa. "Is that all you need tonight, Master?"

Trowa managed to stifle his sigh. "Yes."

Quatre bowed slightly. "Then I shall retire for the night, Master. If that is all right with you."

"Of course. Good night, Quatre."

"Good night, Master." With another bow Quatre turned and left the room.

Trowa sat down slowly after Quatre had left. Though, as a manservant, Quatre was becoming exactly what he wanted, Trowa was growing more and more unhappy with the situation. A part of him wanted to get to know the blonde on a much more personal level, yet another part of him cringed at the thought of becoming intimate with another person. Especially one as beautiful as Quatre. The last time that had happened was still very vivid in his mind.

_But I don't think another trip is going to make a whole lot of difference._

*****

Trowa finished signing the last of the papers he had needed to go through and set it aside.

Quatre had been quick and efficient in his appointed task and had prepared them for their trip in less than a week. It would have taken even less time, but Quatre had found several things wrong with the coach they were going to take and had insisted that it be overhauled before they would leave. Trowa didn't blame the blonde for his insistence. It would not have been good if something had broken on the trip.

A slight cough interrupted his musings and he looked up to find Heero leaning in the doorway. "Good evening," Trowa greeted him, rising to his feet.

"I didn't want to interrupt."

"You're not. I was finished." Trowa frowned slightly as he made note of the expression on Heero's face. "What's wrong?"

Heero sighed as he straightened. "I'm afraid I can't go with you."

"Why not?"

A look of genuine worry crossed Heero's face. "Duo is sick."

"How bad?" 

"It started with a fever and a cough last night. He woke me up this morning, having trouble breathing. I sent for Doc and he's examining him now."

"Then why are you here?"

Heero smiled faintly. "He said I was getting in the way." A shudder ran through him as he shut his eyes. "What if there's something really wrong? I can't bear the thought of…"

Trowa moved quickly across the room and placed an arm around Heero's tense shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"You didn't see him this morning. He was having so much trouble breathing. It was like drawing a breath was causing him so much pain. And you can hear there is fluid in his lungs. I don't understand how he could have gotten so sick, so fast." Heero looked at Trowa, worry and fear evident in his dark blue gaze. "I don't want to loose him."

"And you won't. Doc is the best and Duo is tough. But you're right. You can't go with me. There's no way you should leave Duo's side. He needs you here to be strong for him."

Heero shuddered. "I don't know if I can. I'm so scared…."

"Heero. You can't think bad things. You have to be positive. Everything will be all right. Duo will be fine."

Heero managed a weak grin. "I'll try, but it's scary. I never thought anyone would make me feel like this."

"That's what being in love with someone does to you. You hate to see them suffer. And the thought of them not being there is terrifying."

Heero was quiet for a moment. "I realized something this morning. If I loose him I…. I can't go on without him. If he dies I don't think I'll be too far behind."

"Heero."

"I just want you to know. So you won't be too upset if something were to happen. Duo…. Duo is my whole life. Without him, I don't want to live. That's just the way it is."

"Then I guess he's is definitely going to have to get better, since I know he plans on growing very old with you."

Heero sighed then straightened up. "I'd best be getting back. I want to find out what Doc found."

Trowa nodded. Watching as his best friend left Trowa sighed. He really didn't want to loose two special people, but he feared that Heero was very serious. _And now you aren't going to have Duo and Heero as a buffer between you and Quatre._

And he wasn't sure if that didn't scare him more.


	47. Chapter Forty Five

Golden Lights Part Forty Five

By SilverLady

Quatre sighed as he picked up another piece of clothing from the floor. He was beginning to think that maybe Trowa should not have come on this trip. He was growing more anxious and upset with each passing day.

Dermal had lived up to his reputation of being unreasonable. Every time it would look as if Trowa had gotten through to him, he would suddenly become stubbornly difficult, disagreeing with everything Trowa would say. And every time it happened Trowa would become even more tense.

It had gotten to the point that Quatre dreaded watching Trowa leave for the day. He hated seeing the limp that was getting progressively worse and the tenseness of his shoulders.

Though Quatre had gone with Trowa to the first day's meeting, Trowa had quickly decided he didn't want Quatre to have to put up with the looks and innuendos that some of the other nobles had been throwing his way. 

Although Quatre was glad he didn't have to stand and endure the long meetings, he wasn't happy with the fact Trowa did. 

And of course there was the worry about Duo. He knew that Trowa hadn't heard anything from Heero, one way or the other, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. He feared what would happen to Heero if Duo was very ill for very long. 

Jerking up suddenly Quatre looked around the room. It took him a few minutes but he found what he was looking for. It took him a few minutes for him to remember the exact setup, for it had been a long time since he had done this, but soon he had things set to his liking.

After looking at the low table with it candle and small bowl of water, Quatre turned and went into his room. He returned after a few minutes, dressed in a simple white outfit and carrying a small throw rug.

He carefully arranged the rug on the floor in front of the table and then slowly knelt down on it. Bowing his head, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself and remember the precise wording of the opening chant.

Suddenly, it was all there. Every move, every word, flooding his head. Murmuring softly, Quatre began a ritual as old as his people.

As he started his opening chant, he carefully lit the candle, then dipped his fingers into the bowl of water. First he ran his damp fingers across his forehead then made an x across his chest.

"Please, Great One, giver of life and protector of all, hear my plea. Forgive me for forsaking you for so long, but please understand why I have not been able to honor you in the manner in which you should be. I live with those who do not understand our ways. Do not be angry with them, they simply are different. I fear I do not understand them even after all these long months of living with them. I do not even know if they have their own ways of honoring you or not.

"I have come to you to ask that you lend your strength, not to me, but to my friend. He is called Duo and he is very ill. I beg that you find it in your heart to guard him and help to make him well. He has been a good friend and guide for me and I do not wish to see anything bad happen to him.

 "I know that you will do what must be done, but if my little plea means anything I would be most grateful. You are the wise and all knowing one. Please, do not take my friends from me. I…. I need them to guide me through the trip that is my life. There is so much I do not understand and so much I have yet to learn. They have already taught me much, but I feel there is more for them to show me. 

"But if it is his time to join you on the Great Ride please know that he will not make the journey alone. The man who he calls master he also calls lover. He is known as Heero and he will not let Duo leave without him. Guard them both, for I do not think one is whole without the other."

Quatre close his eyes and bowed his head once more. "Please, do not take them yet."

He didn't see the figure standing in the doorway behind him. Without making a sound, Trowa slipped silently from the room. 

Moving down the hall he sat down in the first chair he had found. He hadn't realized that Quatre had rituals and ceremonies that he had been unable to perform because of the changes in his life. He remembered the comfort that Heero had taken in those little rituals when he had first come to Macir. He should have asked, should have made sure that Quatre was still allowed to do at least some of the things that were his people traditions. He shouldn't have eradicated every little bit of home from Quatre's life. Maybe if he had been more feeling and understanding Quatre would have had a little bit easier time of it.

Trowa sighed and rested his head in his hands. Was it too late to set some things right?

***

After Quatre had finished with his prayers he set to cleaning the room from one end to the other. Somehow, the simple ritual that had so been a part of his life growing up had made him feel better.

Now if only he could come up with something to help Trowa relax a little.

Suddenly a conversation that he'd had a couple of months ago with Duo popped into his head.

***

Quatre watched as Duo buzzed around the room, cleaning up things and general straightening up the room.

"I wish that the Council meetings were done," Quatre murmured.

Duo turned to look at him. "Why?"

"Trowa hasn't been sleeping very well. I go in every morning to find his bed a complete disaster. I think these meetings are really getting to him. He is very tense."

Duo grinned at him, before coming over and flopping down next to him. "Why don't you do what I do when Heero's really tense."

Quatre was afraid to ask, knowing how Duo was, but he rose to the bait anyway. "What?"

"First you give him a really good massage."

_That doesn't sound too bad._

"And than a really good blowjob."

Quatre turned beet red. "I knew there was a catch."

"Come on, it works great. Relaxes him every time."

"Duo, I don't think….."  
  


"You know you want him, and you know he's never gonna make the first move. So you're gonna have to do it."

"Duo!"

Duo suddenly threw up his hands. "I'm gonna be an old man before the two of you do anything." He jumped back up and began pacing the room. "It ain't that hard." Duo grinned at the double meaning in his words. "Then again… Just give him a back rub, and then a front rub and then a …."  
  


"Duo!"

Duo blinked. "You're turning all red."  
  


Quatre could feel his ears burning. "Am not."

"Quatre, it's really easy. All you have to do is get him hard, which won't be to…. Difficult. Then pretend it's a piece of candy or something and suck on it till he comes."

Quatre had put his hands over his ears. "I'm not listening. I'm not listening. I do not hear a word you are saying. Amir cor sin dal mis molame non denso……"

Duo looked at him for a minute, before falling back on the bed laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. "Oh I don't believe you," he gasped.

Quatre just turned redder.

****

Even remembering that conversation made Quatre start blushing. _Oh, could I even keep a straight face long enough to do it. And how would Trowa react. Quatre you are not seriously thinking of…. Oh, no, I am. No. No. I couldn't. Trowa would….. I… Duo, this had damn well better work. I don't know what else to do. Maybe just the back rub. No front rubs or any other kinds of rubs. _

Quatre sighed. He could not believe he was even thinking about doing it.

With another sigh, he turned and started preparing Trowa's bed for his return.

****

Trowa was very surprised to walk into his room late that night and smack into what seemed to be a setting from one of his more steamy dreams. There was dozens of candles burning every where and the doors to the balcony were open, allowing a soft breeze to drift into the room, causing the flames to flicker and dance.

"Quatre?" Maybe he should get while the getting was good.

"Good evening, Master, I hope everything went well this evening." Quatre's quiet voice came from behind him.

Trowa turned to find Quatre standing behind him, a small bottle in his right hand. He was dressed in a simple white tunic with a matching pair of loose pants.

"Quatre? What is going on?"

A small smile graced Quatre's lips. "I thought you could use a bit of relaxing, Master. Why don't you lie down on the bed and we'll get started."

Trowa almost choked at Quatre's words. _This is not happening. I'm dreaming. I'll wake in a few minutes, alone and fustrated._

Quatre simply continued to smile innocently at him.


	48. Chapter Forty Six

Warning: There be lemon ahead. You know the rules.

Golden Lights Part Forty Six

By SilverLady

"Quatre?"

Quatre pressed gently on Trowa's back, forcing the unresisting man towards the bed. "I know that these meetings have been very tiring and stressful for you, Master. I thought that perhaps a massage would help you relax and rest better tonight."

"But that's not necessary."  
  


"Master, that is what you bought me for, isn't it? To tend to your needs. I do believe that you need to relax and rest. You cannot do that if you are so very tense and I do not believe that just lying down is going to help. It will be all right. Duo taught me everything I need to know about giving massages."

_I'll just bet he did. "Quatre, I'm fine. I really don't need…."_

Quatre gave an extra push, causing Trowa to fall onto the bed. "I will take care of you, Master. Just relax." He turned and carefully poured some of the warmed oil he had prepared into a bowl. Turning back towards Trowa he began to remove Trowa's shirt.

"What?!" Trowa yelped.

"I cannot give you a massage when you are still dressed, Master. Besides, those clothes are very constricting and must be very uncomfortable. You will feel better once you are out of them."

Trowa groaned as Quatre continued to remove his clothing. Although a massage sounded good right now, the thought of having Quatre running his hands all over him was… too enticing. He could already feel his body beginning to stir and Quatre had done nothing more than remove his shirt.

Quatre sighed to himself as he looked at the broad expanse of Trowa's back, before reaching out to pull at the waistband of Trowa's pants. He frowned a little, though, when Trowa remained still. "Master, you have to raise your hips a bit if I am to remove your pants."

"That's not necessary."  
  


"I know your leg pains you greatly, Master. I have seen you limping. I cannot do a full massage if you do not allow me to remove all of your clothes. Certainly there is nothing wrong, Master? I have unclothed you many times before. Why does this time disturb you? I am only seeing to your needs, as is my duty."

Trowa sighed, then lifted his hips to allow Quatre to remove his pants. He was going to regret this, he just knew it.

Quatre nodded to himself, before dipping his hand in the oil. Trying to remember what Duo had told him about massaging tense muscles, he began. Carefully and slowly at first, but with growing confidence as he familiarized himself with the motions he rubbed his hands across Trowa's body. He enjoyed the feel of tight muscles relaxing beneath his gentle touch. 

For long moments there was silence as Quatre worked his way down Trowa's back, finding and kneading each tense group of muscles. He had been right, Trowa was far too tense to be very comfortable. He just hoped he could follow through on all of his plan.

Finally he slid his hands past Trowa's waist and onto the smooth flesh of his buttocks.

Trowa jumped a little at the touch of Quatre's hands on his butt. He'd managed to relax and ignore what Quatre's hands had been doing up to that point. But the feel of those soft hands on his rear had him responding instantly. 

But before he could say anything, Quatre's hands were moving on, massaging the tight, sore muscles of his legs. Breathing a sigh of relief, he relaxed again.

He had almost drifted off when he heard Quatre's soft voice. _He didn't say what I think he just said. "What?"_

"You have to turn over, Master. I cannot finish your massage while you are lying on your stomach."

_Turn over? Trowa muffled a groan. His body had reacted much more strongly to the feel of Quatre's hands on him than he had realized. He was hard as a damn rock and Quatre wanted him to roll over. _

Quatre tugged on him. "Please, Master. Roll over."

_And get an eyeful? Trowa sighed. __Maybe if I just pretended like nothing is happening he'll ignore it. He's been very impersonal about the whole thing so far. This probably hasn't affected him one bit. Oh hell, he's the one insisting on the whole stupid thing. Let him have his eyeful. With an almost angry huff, Trowa rolled over. He closed his eyes so he couldn't see Quatre's reaction to the view he was giving him. He really didn't want to see that flat, impersonal look that Quatre would probably give him_

Quatre barely managed to contain his smile as he saw how his ministrations had affected Trowa. So far everything was working out. He made note of Trowa's closed eyes and was a little relieved. He knew that Trowa wasn't asleep yet, but he really didn't want Trowa to see what he was going to do.

Getting some more oil, he began again.

Trowa kept his eyes closed as Quatre began working his hands across the muscles of his chest. The feel of Quatre's hands on him were like something from one of his steamy late night dreams and yet…. He didn't want to scare the boy, so he lay still and did nothing to act on the feelings stirring inside him. He would just have to relieve the results of this little session later, after Quatre had retired to his room.

Trowa was so busy trying to not react to Quatre touch, that at first he didn't even realize when Quatre's hands left his body and the blonde's lips touched his swollen manhood.

He gasped and his eyes flew open when his cock was suddenly engulfed in a hot moist tunnel. He stared down at the shocking sight of Quatre going down him, taking his entire cock into his mouth. "Quatre?!" he groaned.

Quatre looked up and slowly let the hard flesh slide from his mouth. "It is all right, Master. I will take care of things." Then he sucked Trowa back into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the swollen head as he did so. 

 Trowa moaned and fell back, gasping at the feeling of Quatre's mouth on his most intimate of parts. _Oh hell, where did he learn to do that? What has Duo been teaching him?_

Quatre smiled a little as he ran his tongue up and down the hot hard flesh. He was trying very hard to remember all the things that Duo had done to him in the cell that one time and hoping that Trowa would enjoy them. So far it seemed to be working, for Trowa was arching his hips and moaning.

Gathering up his courage, Quatre leaned forward a little, letting the hard flesh slip deeper into his mouth. He gagged a little a he felt it press against the back of his throat, but with a concentrated effort he managed to relax his throat muscles enough that the head of Trowa's erection slid into the tight channel of his throat. Pulling back after a moment, he repeated the process, finding it much easier the second time.

Trowa could nothing but gasp at the feelings coursing through him. Though he had dreamed about this more than he cared to admit, the reality of what Quatre was doing made those dreams pale to shadows. He wasn't sure what had possessed Quatre to suddenly do this wonderful thing but more that a little bit of him enjoyed it immensely.

He tightened his grip on the sheets as the fire in his groin burned hotter. He wanted nothing more that to grab that golden head and hold it still while he pounded his aching flesh deep into the hot wet mouth that surrounded him, but he didn't want to hurt or scare the boy, so he just clung to the sheets and tried to survive the ride.

Suddenly Quatre did something that threw Trowa over the edge and into the most blinding climax he had ever experienced. With a muffled shout, he erupted into Quatre's mouth.

Trowa's climax caught Quatre by surprise and he almost choked when the first stream of fluid hit the back of his throat, but he recovered quickly and swallowed as much of the hot fluid as he could. It was a little bitter in the back of the throat, but he ignored the taste and let it flow down his throat.

With one last soft moan, Trowa collapsed onto the bed, totally spent.

Quatre let the softening flesh slide from his mouth as he sat up. Without taking his eyes from the form in front of him, he reached for the towels he had left by the bed. With soft stroke he cleaned up both Trowa and himself, smiling as he noticed that Trowa seemed to have fallen asleep.

_I guess Duo was right. A good massage and a good blowjob will do wonders to relax him._

With a soft sigh, he curled up at the end of the bed and waited for Trowa to recover. He wanted to be sure that he had done everything right. Plus, he wanted to bask in the feeling of being near Trowa for a while longer.

****

Trowa awoke with a soft gasp. He'd had the most disturbing dream, but it was something he was growing used to. He couldn't believe he had dreamed that Quatre had given a wonderful massage and then an even more wonderful blowjob. His dreams were growing steamier by the day, it seemed.

With a groan of frustration he sat up and then froze when he realized that there was something at the end of his bed. Shifting slowly, he was able to shift enough to see what it was.

He gasped and sat back quickly when he realized that it was Quatre, curled up asleep at the end of his bed. _What is Quatre doing sleeping at the end of my bed? It was a dream, wasn't it? Quatre didn't really…_

Very slowly Trowa lifted the light blanket that covered him and realized that he was not dressed in his sleeping attire as usual, but completely naked. Cast a quick glance at the bed side table showed him that the bowl of oil was just where Quatre had placed it.

_Shit. It wasn't a dream. It really happened. Quatre did give me the most mind blowing blowjob I've ever had._

Suddenly Trowa felt a heavy weight on his chest. He couldn't believe he had let Quatre do it and how much he enjoyed it. He had to get out of here and think. He had to clear his head and figure out what to do.

Moving very slowly so as not to disturb the sleeping figure at the end of his bed, he got up and grabbed his pants from the floor. He hurriedly dressed and headed for the door. Pausing as he reached for the door he looked back at the sleeping form. With a sigh, he opened the door slight and slipped from the room.

As the door softly closed, Quatre opened his eyes. _Did I do it wrong, Master?_

****

Trowa sighed as he rubbed his arms. Although he had been walking for nearly an hour his mind was still in turmoil and he had come no closer to a decision on what he should do. A part of him wanted to go back and finish what had been started, but another part was fiercely against it.

Trowa was so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even see that cloaked figure that slipped up behind him until it was far too late.

A knife was pressed against his throat, its dark red gem gleaming in the moonlight light as a soft voice hissed in his ear. "Greetings, Prince Trowa. I've been waiting a long time to catch up with you. Don't move or I'll slit your pretty throat right here."

Trowa froze. _The killer.__ But how…_

A soft laugh in his ear caused a shudder to run through him.

"Finally, you will pay."


	49. Chapter Forty Seven

Golden Lights Part Forty Seven

By SilverLady

Another harsh laugh echoed in his ear. "I have waited long for this moment. You will do as I tell you and perhaps you will live a bit longer."

"Who are you?" Trowa whispered.

The knife pressed a bit deeper into his unprotected throat, causing a drop of blood to well up. "Silence. I will be the one to do the talking. Not you. Now, start walking and don't even think of trying to escape. I have no qualms of stabbing you in the back, pretty prince."

Moving slowly, Trowa did as he was told. He just hoped he could keep the person talking long enough for someone to find him.

"Turn left at the next corner."

Trowa did as he was told, realizing that they were headed of the vast expanse of gardens behind the castle. He groaned mentally, it would be difficult for anyone to find him in the huge maze of plants and buildings.

Both Trowa and his capture were so engrossed in what they were doing that neither of them spotted the brief gleam of gold that followed them out into the gardens.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking to Trowa, they arrived at a small building. It looked like a tent carved of stone.

"Inside."

Trowa stepped into the building, surprised to find it lavishly decorated with pillows and rugs. In the center of the room was a large chair, covered with rich silk draperies and surrounded by thick pillows.

The figure behind him laughed. "Lord Dermal does have his fantasies, doesn't he."

Trowa was suddenly shoved towards the chair. 

"Sit."

He had barely sat in the seat when the figure moved forward and swiftly bound his arms and legs to the chair. Trowa studied the figure as he was bound, but could tell nothing about it. It was too heavily concealed in the clothing it wore.

After the bounds were made sufficiently tight, the figure stepped away to survey its handy work. Another harsh laugh echoed eerily through the enclosed area. "An appropriate place to die, my pretty prince."

"Who are you?" Trowa asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know. You wouldn't know me even if you passed me in the street. I am but a nameless stranger to you."

"Then why?" He paused. "Did my cousin hire you?"

The figure stepped forward, raising the knife into the air. "Silence. I don't want to hear your pitiful voice."

"Don't I deserve to know who is going to be my murderer and why?"

"Murderer. Such a base term. I prefer avenger." The figure turned away for a moment. "Very well, ask your petty questions. They will not change the out come of this night, though. That has already been written."

"Did my cousin hire you?"

A laugh. "Foolish, pompous man. He thought he was so wonderful. He gave me money for something I would have gladly done. To rid him of his dear cousin and his companions. Too bad you have the devil's luck. I took great pleasure in finishing him off. He didn't know that he was part of the problem and must be eliminated. And now I will finish it."

"Who are you?"

Suddenly the figure pulled back it's hood, revealing a young girl with short black hair. 

"The girl from the inn."

She grinned, an almost mad look on her face. "And so many other places. But you and the others continued to elude my grasp. Until now." She held up the knife and looked at it. "A beautiful piece of work, don't you think? I'm sure he was quite loath to lose it, but he had no more need of it. I do think it sang when it drank his and his master's blood."

Trowa's eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about the knife the girl held. It looked like…._ No. Oh, dear god, no. It can't be… It can't be Duo's knife. She can't have…_

"And now it will taste you sweet blood."

"Why?" Trowa choked out.

"To avenge my beloved, my golden prince.  For all the humility you have dared to lay upon him. For taking him from me and turning him into a play toy for you and yours. For destroying our people, who only wanted to live in peace. I will destroy you and he will be free to return and lead our people to the golden land that was promised to us when he was born. The golden prince will take us away from this accursed place and we will finally be happy. And I will be by his side as his loving wife and bearer of his children. It is so written the the Scrolls of the Great One."

Suddenly there was a soft sound from the doorway and a figure stepped into the room. "Carlia?"

The girl spun around. "Beloved. You should not be here. I will come for you when the time is right."

Quatre walked up to the girl and looked at her sadly. "Carlia? What did you do to you hair? Why did you color it so dark? And cut it?"

"For you, beloved. I would not sully your golden light by allowing my hair to be as it was will you were not free. I died it to show that I would seek vengeance for all that was done to you."

"Carlia. Please untie Trowa. Nothing will be gained by hurting him."

"No. You will be free. I will kill him and you will be free. We can return to Arbiria and bring about the Golden Age that was promised to us."

Quatre sadly shook his head. "No, Carlia. Killing him will change nothing."  
  


"You will be free," the girl insisted.

"No, I would not. I would be hunted for the rest of my life, as an escaped slave and a murderer. That is no freedom. Not for me nor for you or our people. Let Trowa go and end this now."

An odd look entered Carlia's eyes. "They have befuddled you. It will be all right, I will cleanse you at the Springs. The Great One will clean you and make you whole once again." She laid a hand on Quatre's arm. "I will take care of you, beloved. Just as I always have."

Quatre sighed. "Carlia, I am no longer worthy of you. I am no longer pure. You deserve someone…."

Carlia shook her head. "The Great One will understand. That they made you do things against your wishes. He will not hold that against you."

"But Carlia, not all of it was done against my wishes. Tonight I went willingly. And I enjoyed what I did."

Carlia patted his arm again. "It is all right. I understand. It is not truly you that is speaking. They have befuddled you mind and made you believe that you liked it, but I know you didn't."

"Carlia."

Carlia turned to look at Trowa. "You will befoul him no longer. I will destroy the foul magics that you have wrapped him in and make him pure once more. You will no longer tarnish our Golden One with your touch."

Carlia stepped forward, raising the knife to strike Trowa down, but before she could complete the move, Quatre grabbed her arm. "Enough. Carlia, the only one befuddled here is you. He has not magiced me, nor drugged me, nor tricked me. He has been unfailingly polite and kind to me from the day he saved me from far worse fates. He has tolerated my foolishness and showed me there is much more to life that the narrow view of it our people have had. He has shown me that love cares not for the form but for the soul the form hides, be it male or female. 

"I admit that in the early days I would have gladly fled with you, but I have realized that it would be dishonorable. My binding to him is more than Master to slave, or even Lord to subject. I love him and I think I have from the day my cell door open and revealed him to me. I know in my heart that this is what the Great One planned for me, that this how I will lead our people to true freedom. By showing those that do not understand what we really are. By showing that love knows no boundaries, not those made by man or even those of gender.  Together we can bring true peace, to his people and to ours.

"But what you do is no better than what was done to us. You use tricks and dishonesty to hurt those who have done nothing to you. Who have had nothing to do with what was done to Arbiria. You took money from a dishonest man to take another man's life, just because he was angry with him. You are the one who has turned your back on the teachings of the Great One, seeking vengeance for something that was never yours to begin with."

Carlia turned to look at Quatre. "Oh, Golden One. Have they befouled you so much? How can you say such things." An gleam entered her eyes and she nodded. "I now understand. I must free you from this torment now, so that you can be clean. The Great One waits for you, beloved." And with that she lunged at him, the knife gleaming in her hand.

All Trowa could do was cry out in horror as the two figures went down. 

_NOOOOOOOO!!!!_


	50. Chapter Forty Eight

Golden Lights Part Forty Eight By SilverLady 

Carlia stepped forward, raising the knife to strike Trowa down, but before she could complete the move, Quatre grabbed her arm. "Enough. Carlia, the only one befuddled here is you. He has not magiced me, nor drugged me, nor tricked me. He has been unfailingly polite and kind to me from the day he saved me from far worse fates. He has tolerated my foolishness and showed me there is much more to life than the narrow view of it our people have had. He has shown me that love cares not for the form but for the soul the form hides, be it male or female. 

"I admit that in the early days I would have gladly fled with you, but I have realized that it would be dishonorable. My binding to him is more than Master to slave, or even Lord to subject. I love him and I think I have from the day my cell door opened and revealed him to me. I know in my heart that this is what the Great One planned for me, that this how I will lead our people to true freedom. By showing those that do not understand what we really are. And also by showing all who see us that love knows no boundaries, not even those drawn by man.  Together we can bring true peace, to his people and to ours.

"But what you do is no better than what was done to us. You use tricks and dishonesty to hurt those who have done nothing to you. Who have had nothing to do with what was done to Arbiria. You took money from a dishonest man to take another man's life, just because he was angry with him. You are the one who has turned your back on the teachings of the Great One, seeking vengeance for something that was never yours to begin with."

Carlia turned to look at Quatre. "Oh, Golden One. Have they befouled you so much? How can you say such things?" A gleam entered her eyes and she nodded. "Now I understand what I must do. I will free you from this torment so that you may be clean. The Great One waits for you, beloved." And with that she lunged at him, the knife gleaming in her hand.

All Trowa could do was cry out in horror as the two figures went down. 

_NOOOOOOOO!!!!___

Trowa struggled against the ropes that bound him to the chair, but he could not loosen them. All he could do was watch in horror as the two figures struggled for possession of the knife.

After what seemed like an eternity to Trowa the struggle ceased and the two lay still on the floor. Trowa could see the red of blood but could not tell whose blood it was. He hoped it wasn't Quatre's, that the mad girl had not succeeded in killing his golden love.

"Quatre?" he called softly. "Please, Quatre answer me. Are you all right?"  

After a moment there was a soft moan and Quatre slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.

"Quatre?"

Quatre slowly turned his head and looked at Trowa. Sorrow darkened his eyes. "Why?" he whispered.

Trowa lowered his own gaze from the look in Quatre's eyes. "Love makes people do strange things."

Quatre looked back at the still figure lying on the floor in front of him. "That was not love. That was obsession."

Slowly Quatre reached out and took the knife from the girl's limp hand. Carefully he wiped the blood from the blade then tucked into the belt of his pants. 

Rising unsteadily to his feet he walked over to where Trowa was tied. Bowing his head he began to work on loosening the knots binding Trowa to the chair

"I am sorry, Master," he whispered.

Trowa looked down at the bowed head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing that happened was your fault."

Quatre looked up. "Wasn't it? She nearly killed all of you in her mad quest for vengeance. She cared nothing for innocent bystanders nor for the property of those bystanders. All because of me."

"No. Not because of you. Don't lay the blame for her behavior at your own feet. There are many who could be blamed for this, but not you."

Quatre sighed, but didn't argue as he continued to work at the ropes. But in his guilt and confusion he became more and more fumble fingered, causing the ropes to tighten not loosen. With an angry growl he suddenly grabbed the knife from his belt and used it to cut the last of the ropes. 

Trowa sighed in relief as the tight ropes fell away. Before he could rise, though, he found his arms full of sobbing blonde. Rubbing his hand across Quatre's back he whispered soft nonsense words, trying to calm the boy down.

"I was so afraid she would kill you," Quatre whispered. "I couldn't let that happen. I…"

"It's all right little one. Everything is going to be all right."

Quatre sighed as he turned a little in Trowa's arms. He was startled to realize that he was still holding the knife that he had taken from Carlia. He frowned a little as he studied the knife. There was something familiar about it.

Trowa looked down when he realized that something had caught Quatre's attention. "Quatre?"

"This knife looks like one I've seen before."

Suddenly the girl's words came back to Trowa. _A beautiful piece of work, don't you think? I'm sure he was quite loath to lose it, but he had no more need of it. I do think it sang when it drank his and his master's blood._

"Oh, god no."

Quatre looked up. "Master?"

"I think…. I think the knife is Duo's"

"Duo's? The one Heero gave him?"

Trowa nodded. "She said that…. That she was sure he was loath to lose it but he had no more use for it. That it sang when it drank his and his master's blood."

A look of horror crossed Quatre's face. "No, she wouldn't have. Oh, Great One, no. Not Duo and Heero." Tears welled up in his eyes.

Trowa looked at him grimly. "We have to get back. Now."

"But the negotiations."

"Dermal will have to accept the treaty as is or shove it. I'm through playing games with him. Get everything ready to go. I want to be leaving by afternoon at the very latest."

Quatre scrambled to his feet. "Yes, master."

Trowa stood up and looked down at Quatre. _Please let them be all right._

With a determined expression on his face, Trowa led Quatre from the building. Neither man looked back at the still figure lying on the floor.


	51. Chapter Forty Nine

Golden Lights Part Forty-Nine

By SilverLady

True to his word, Trowa had shown up in Dermal's chambers with a final treaty. He had made it perfectly clear that he was tired of Dermal's games and would hear no more excuses. Dermal had stammered and tried to stall him, but in the end had signed the agreement. It was the one Trowa's uncle had originally sent, the one that Dermal had been so adamantly against.

Now they were racing for home as quickly as they could, though Quatre felt at times as if Trowa would have been happier if they could have simply teleported there. His worry for Heero and for Duo was an almost tangible thing.

Quatre turned slightly sideways to watch Trowa, who was leaning forward in his seat, as if doing so could make the carriage move that much faster. Quatre swore that it looked as if Trowa was ready to leap from the carriage and start pulling it himself. He apparently felt they were still moving too slowly.

It had been two days since they had left Dermal's castle and they were nearly home now. Trowa's worry for his friend had pushed them onward at a very fast pace. Sometimes, perhaps a bit too fast. They had had to leave several of their escort behind when they had changed horses. They had simply grown to exhausted to keep up the pace that was being set.

Trowa frowned when he realized that the horses were slowing. "What's going on? Why are we stopping?" he growled angrily. He had made it very clear that he wanted to be home as quickly as possible.

Quatre reached over and laid a reassuring hand on Trowa's arm. "It has been many hours since we changed horses, Master. I am sure they are tiring and that the driver is stopping to get fresh ones. It won't slow us down that much, but if we press on with tired horses it will."

Trowa turned to glare at Quatre, but said nothing. He knew the blonde was right, but it was frustrating. He was desperately afraid of what he would find when they arrived at his home. 

****

Though it took less than half an hour to change the team of horses, Trowa was practically dancing with impatience by the time they were on the road again.

"How much longer?" he muttered to himself.

"Mandir said we should reach the city limits sometime this afternoon, Master," Quatre said softly. "We should be at your home before nightfall."

"That long?" 

"We are traveling as quickly as we can, Master, but the roads are getting more crowded as we get closer to the city. If we go too swiftly we could cause an accident and that would only delay us more. "

Trowa huffed, hating the fact that Quatre was right. "But Heero…."

Quatre sighed. "If Carlia did attack Duo and Heero, then there is nothing we can do for them now." Quatre had come to terms with that fact but hoped that the lack of a messenger with news was a good sign. Surely they would have sent word to Trowa telling him of his friend's murder, if such an event had occurred. And with the royal crest plainly embossed on the side of the carriage, any messenger would have known who was inside and would have stopped them. He hoped.

Trowa leaned back in his seat. "I…. I suppose."

Quatre turned to watch the scenery sweeping past the carriage. _Please let them be all right._

****

As Quatre had predicted, they pulled into the courtyard of Trowa's home just as the sun was setting. The carriage had barely come to a stop when Trowa was opening the door.

Felix rushed out to greet his Master. "Lord Trowa, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Did things go well? Everything went all right, didn't it? There weren't any problems were there?"

Trowa looked calmly at the man. "Where is Heero?"

Felix blinked. "Sir?"

"Where is Lord Heero? I need to speak with him immediately."

"He's…. He's not here, sir."

"Where is he?" Trowa started toward the house. 

"I believe he said he was taking his slave to his home in the country. The doctor recommended the fresh air would be better for the boy. He mentioned something about the air in the city making the infection in his lungs worse."

Trowa turned back towards the man. "When did they leave?"

"Two days after you."

"Has anyone heard from him since then?"

"No, sir. He made it very clear that he didn't want to be disturbed. He was quite concerned about the boy. Apparently he was having a great deal of difficulty breathing. I think he was afraid that having a lot of people in and out would actually make the boy sicker."

Trowa started back towards the courtyard. "Have…"  
  


Quatre, who had followed the two men and heard the conversation, laid his hand on Trowa's arm. "Master, we should wait until morning."

Trowa glared at the blonde. "You heard what Felix said."

"Yes, Master. But it will not do anyone any good if you go charging off into the night. The men have pushed as hard and as fast as they could and I am sure they are tired. As are you, if you would stop long enough to admit it. Rest and we will leave first thing in the morning. We can have them saddle two horses and make the trip much more swift." Quatre looked sadly up at Trowa. "As I have already said, if she did what she said she did, a little more time will not make any difference. There is nothing that we can do to save them now. It has been far too long. We will either find them all right, or we will have to make arrangements for their burial. Rushing off in the dark will only risk you and anyone who goes with you. Please, wait until morning."

Felix stared, mouth hanging open at Quatre's speech. "Lord Trowa, what is he talking about? What do you think has happened that you fear Lord Heero is…..dead?"

Trowa sighed as his shoulders slumped in weariness. He knew that once again Quatre was right. His rushing headlong into the night was only going to get himself killed and would do Heero and Duo no good. "We finally caught the woman that was behind the attacks on myself and the others. She said some things that indicated that she had stolen a knife from Duo, after killing him and Heero. We came back as quickly as we could to find out if it was true."

"Surely you don't think someone could have gotten near enough to Lord Heero for such a thing to happen?"

"If he was worried about Duo, there is no telling what could have happened. But Quatre is right. Rushing out there in the dark is not a good idea. I will remain here for the night. Quatre and I will ride out first thing in the morning to find Heero and Duo." He looked at Felix. "I have some papers I need you to take to my uncle. You may tell him what has happened and that I will contact him as soon as I find them."

Felix bowed. "Of course, sir. I will have your room prepared."

"Thank you."

Felix quickly hurried away, issuing orders as he went.

"Master?"

Trowa turned to look at the blonde. "Again you have been the voice of reason. I thank you for that. Let us go and get some rest. I want to be away as early as possible."

Quatre nodded. "Of course, Master." He paused for a moment. "I am as worried for them as you are."

"I know." With another sigh, Trowa turned and headed for his rooms. He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep that night. He was too worried about Heero and Duo. Especially finding out that Heero had taken Duo to his country house. He knew Heero rarely took any other servants with him when he went there. Which meant if something had happened to them, no one would know about it.

_Please, be there when I get there. Don't let her have won._

****

Dawn had barely lightened the sky when Trowa and Quatre were riding out of the courtyard.

"How far is it, Master?" Quatre asked, watching Trowa with worry in his eyes. It was obvious to him that Trowa had slept little the night before. If the truth was to be told, neither had he. Dreams of empty violet eyes had haunted him.

"About four hours ride to the east." Trowa carefully steered his horse around a large wagon that was lumbering along the street in front of them. "Though we'll actually be on his lands about a half an hour before we reach the main house."

Quatre nodded slightly. He had learned from various conversations that Heero owned a great deal of land, but that the country estate that they were headed to was his favorite.

"Why does he like it there so much, Master?" He hoped he could keep Trowa occupied and not fretting over what they might find at the end of their journey.

Trowa winced at the use of the word. It was obvious that, although Quatre had made overtures to indicate he was interested in Trowa, he still was not certain of his place. After this mess was straightened out he was going to have to sit down and have a long talk with the blonde. He needed to know the motives behind that scene in the bedroom.

He also recognized the attempt at a diversion and allowed it to work, for now. "There are no bad memories for Heero there. His father hated the place and never went there. He thought it was too old, too much work and much too countrified for his sophisticated tastes. In fact, he often sent Heero there when he was tired of having him around, usually just after he got himself a new mistress."

He sighed a little. "I think that place was the closing thing to a real home that Heero ever felt he had. He certainly never felt welcome at his father's place."

"What happened to his father's home, Master?"

"Heero got rid of it shortly after his father died. He wanted nothing to do with it."

Quatre tilted his head slightly. "Who bought it, Master?"

Trowa gave a short laugh. "Michal. Heero didn't really care who bought the place, so long as it was out of his hands."

"And now who owns it, Master?"

Trowa huffed silently. He was getting heartily bored of that damn word again. He was going to have it stricken from Quatre's memory one of these days, just so he never had to hear it again. "Who ever is named heir of Michal's estate. Most likely me."

Quatre blinked. "But you don't want it either, do you Master?"

"That place has almost as many bad memories for me as it does for Heero. But if I am the new owner I think I'll just let Heero tear it down or blow it up or something. Build something new, without all the old memories. Maybe I'll give it to Duo after Heero frees him from his slavery. Make him a Duke or something and give him the land as part of his title. That certainly would make Heero's father roll over in his grave. The ancestral home torn down and the land given to a newly freed slave who is his own son's lover. He'd be doing cartwheels." He gave a slight smile. "It would be, to quote Wufei, 'Justice'."

Trowa looked over at Quatre. "And as much as I appreciate you trying to distract me, I think I would rather just brood for awhile."

Quatre turned his eyes downward. "Yes, Master."

*****

The next several hours passed in silence, both men keeping their thoughts and fears to themselves.

Finally the large house that Heero Yuy called his home away from the city came into view.

Quatre studied the house as they approached. It was exactly the kind of place he would think Heero would like and he could also understand why Heero's father would hate it. There was nothing fancy or ostentatious about it. It was a good solid house, with little in the way of ornamentation to make it look like it was more than it was, the main of house of a large prosperous country estate. Perfect for Heero, but not for most of the other nobles that he had seen during his time serving Trowa. He could only imagine what the other place looked like. It wasn't a pretty picture, at least not in his mind.

Trowa frowned as they approached the house. Although the grounds were well tended, as usual, there was no sign of anyone around. He had hoped to find Heero and Duo outside or at least one of the tenants who helped tend the house and lands around. The absence of anyone bothered him.

Dismounting carefully he walked up to the main entrance to the house. He could tell that Quatre had also dismounted and was quietly following him. Even knowing that knocking would probably not do any good he did so anyway. It made him feel a little better to bang on something.

After several moments with no response he sighed and reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. One he had almost forgotten to grab in his haste that morning. One he certain would have forgotten if he'd rushed out last night like he had intended on doing.

Turning the key in the lock he carefully opened the large doors. "Heero?" he called as he stepped into the entry hall. Only the echo of his voice answered him.

Signaling Quatre to follow him, he turned to his right and headed toward the large library at the end of the hall. It was a place he had often found Heero when he visited here. Mostly because it was someplace that everyone who knew Heero would never expect to find him.

But when he carefully opened the door he found nothing, not even the indication that Heero had even been in the room in quite some time.

"Perhaps we should try upstairs, Master." Quatre whispered. "If Duo was still sick when they came here then I'm sure Heero would have taken him to the bedroom to rest. And I doubt if he would have left his side."

Trowa closed his eyes for a moment. Why did Quatre continue to be the voice of reason for him lately? "You're right. Let's go." With one more glance around the hauntingly silent library, Trowa turned and headed for the main staircase. 

Taking each stair one at a time he made his reluctant way upstairs. Though he knew that Quatre was right and if something had happened to Heero and Duo he would most likely find them in the master bedroom, he had been very hesitant about going up there. He had really hoped to find Heero and Duo both downstairs, behaving as if nothing was wrong. 

Finally approaching the large double doors that guarded the entrance to the master suite, Trowa hesitated. The next few moments would most likely give him the answers to his questions. He silently prayed to any deity that would listen that he would not find what he feared he would beyond the massive doors. 

Moving slowly he opened the doors and stepped inside. He could sense that Quatre was just behind him, but his entire focus was on the room before him.

Empty. The large sitting area of the master suite was completely empty. It didn't look like anyone had been here in days. 

Closing his eyes for a moment he stepped across the room and opened the doors to the bedroom itself. As he stepped into the room he stopped and stared at the scene he had walked in on.

Heero and Duo. Still and unmoving in the great bed, Heero's body curled protectively around Duo's.

"Oh Great One, no," Quatre barely breathed behind him.

Trowa stepped closer to the bed, reluctantly reaching out towards Heero's still form.

Suddenly he was pierced with a sight that made him sag in relief. Angry blue eyes glared at him from beneath a thatch of dark brown hair.

"Most people knock before entering someone else's private quarters," a flat, angry voice growled softly.

Quatre leaned against the doorway in relief. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you so much, Great One." For he knew that if Heero was all right then so was Duo. She had not hurt them. She had lied about the knife and where she had gotten it. She had not killed his best friend or his lover. Everything was going to all right now.


	52. Chapter Fifty

(Listens to the sounds of bodies (body?) falling over in shock)

I know it's been like forever since I've updated, but let's just say that the updating of an old favorite got me inspired. So much so that there might even be more to this and an update to New Beginnings as well. (Hell just froze over)

Cross your fingers and enjoy.

Lani (aka SilverLady)

Golden Lights Part Fifty

By SilverLady

Heero leaned back in his chair, a look of indifference on his face, as Trowa paced before him. Every now then he would frown slightly, but gave no other indication of his thoughts as Trowa explained what had happened.

"So we headed back here as fast as we could," Trowa said, running his fingers through his hair. "But when we got back we were told that you had brought Duo here. I knew you didn't like to bring many servants when you come here, so as soon as it was light enough we headed out here to try and find you."

Trowa gave a lopsided grin as he looked at his best friend. "My heart damn near stopped when we came in and you didn't answer us."

Heero was silent for several minutes. "Let me get this straight. You blew off an important treaty talk."

"He signed the damn thing," Trowa interrupted. "And it was the original one that Uncle sent, not his fucked up versions."

Heero glared at him for the interruption. "You raced back here, risking yourself, your men and the animals by not taking proper rest breaks. Then you come out here and break into my home and run around yelling like a banshee."

"I did not!"

"All on the word of an obviously deranged women. Do you really think so little of me, that I would not be able to defend myself and Duo?"

"No…it was just that…. She had the knife," Trowa protested weakly, beginning to see how irrational his behavior must look like from Heero's point of view.

"What knife?"

"The one you bought for Duo. She said she used it to kill the both of you and that she was going to use it on me."  
  


"And where is this knife?"  
  


"Um, in my bag, I think."

"May I see it?"

"I left the bag on the horse. I'll probably have to go chase it down. I sorta…forgot to tie him up when we got here."

Heero sighed but rose to his feet. "Then let's go catch him."

Trowa looked sheepish as he followed Heero from the room. He really had run off half-cocked. He just hoped Heero would understand how badly he had been scared, afraid of loosing his best friend.

***

Quatre sat quietly beside the large bed, watching Duo as he slept. Although Heero had said nothing as he had grabbed Trowa and walked out of the room, the glare he had sent the small blonde told him clearer than any words that he was expected to remain with Duo until Heero returned.

Frowning slightly, he studied his sleeping friend's face, making note of the dark bruises under his eyes and the sunken appearance of his cheeks. Combined with the startling pallor of his skin, it told Quatre just how sick Duo had been. Of how sick he still was.

Quatre reached out and ran a gentle finger along Duo's cheek. Just how close had they come to loosing him, Quatre wondered.

Duo stirred slightly at the touch. "Heero?" he whispered, his voice barely heard. His body trembled slightly as he drew in a slow, painful breath.

Quatre bit his bottom lip, not liking the sound of Duo's slow breathing. "No," he whispered back, leaning forward to practically press his lips to Duo's ear.

"Q?"

"Yes, it's me."  
  


"Back?"

"Yes. We finished the talks and came back to see how you were doing. I was worried about you and so was Ma….Trowa."

"Sick."

"I know. But now that I'm back I can help make you better."

Duo snorted slightly at that statement, but was then racked by a painful cough. "Chest….hurts."

Quatre ran his hand soothingly down Duo's side. "I know it does. I'll find out what Heero had been doing and then I'll see if anything my people did will help. There are several remedies for chest colds that my ancestors came up with over the years. Though the desert is very hot most of the time, it can be very wet during the Delmin. That's when people would get sick, from the damp and the cold of the weather and the caves where we took shelter."

"Q?"

"Yes?"

"Stay. Talk."

"If you want me to. At least until Heero gets back. I'm sure he won't want me around then."

"Stay. Here. 'til not sick."

"You mean here at the estate?"

"Yes. Heero….needs….help."

"He might not agree, but if that is what you want I doubt if he'll argue. I'll stay."

Duo's eyes slid slowly closed, the short talk obviously having worn him out. "Promise?"

"I promise.

***

Heero studied the knife he held in his hand carefully. He was certain that it wasn't Duo's knife, although it was very similar to the one he'd bought him. "What did she say about the knife? Did she actually say it was Duo's?"

"No."

"Then why think that it was?"

"Is it?"

"No. It is very similar but it's not his."

"How can you be sure?"

Heero held the knife up, the sun glinting off its smooth blade. "No writing. Duo's blade had writing on it, which spells out 'Shinigami'. There is nothing on this blade."

Trowa sighed; he had forgotten that little fact. If he had remembered that then he would have realized she was just trying to upset him. Which she had done very well. "She said that it was a beautiful piece of work that she was sure he was loathe to loose, but he had no more use for. That she thought it had sung when it drank 'his and his master's blood'."

"Nothing more that insinuation."

"No."

Heero nodded. He was glad that the woman had not gotten a hold of Duo's knife, which was back in the city, safely locked away. If she had gotten it from it's hiding place, it would mean she had found the other things he kept there as well. He was relieved to know that she hadn't. There were things in there that he didn't want anyone to ever see, not even Trowa.

"You shouldn't have let her get to you like that."  
  


Trowa made a noise of protest, but Heero held up his hand.

"But I understand. I probably would have reacted the same way, if the situation were reversed."

Trowa blinked at the underhanded compliment. He had made note of the word probably in that sentence, though, and understood Heero was implying that he would have investigated and thought things out more thoroughly before running off.

"You mean a great deal to me as well." Heero turned to look at his friend, wondering if Trowa really did know how much his friendship meant to him.

"It wasn't just you I was concerned about," Trowa said softly. "How is he doing, really?"

Heero sighed. "Better than he was, but still not so good." He let all his worry and fear show in his eyes as he looked at Trowa. "I…I thought I was going to lose him. His breathing just kept getting worse and worse. It sounded like he was drowning and the doctor said that he was. That there were so many irritants in the air they were making things worse. That his lungs were producing so much fluid to try and get rid of them that he was literally drowning in it. So I brought him out here, hoping that the cleaner air would make things better. And it has, somewhat. His breathing is a little better than it was.

"But then the doctor gave him this stuff, to try and clear up the fluid in his lungs. It's only made him worse, though. He started throwing up and nothing seems to settle his stomach. He's just getting weaker and weaker." Heero closed his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm still going to lose him." Heero made a choked sound. "I can't loose him."

Trowa laid his hand on Heero's shoulder but said nothing. He had no answers. 

***

Quatre sighed as he mentally catalogued the symptoms his friend displayed; comparing them to the things he remembered learning from his mother and oldest sister, both of whom had been healers for his tribe.

The most worrying symptom was the sound of fluid in Duo's lungs. It seemed that the airways were still irritated and inflamed, causing them to produce too much fluid in an effort to soothe and relieve the irritation. He would have to do something to clear out the fluid and ease the inflammation of the airways. His sister had once shown him a poultice of herbs that could be rubbed on the chest and would produce a soothing and healing vapor to help ease the inflammation. Plus she had taught him how to make a mist treatment that would help loosen the phlegm in Duo's lungs and make it easier for him to expel it. A prospect he was sure Duo was not going to enjoy.

His other main concern was the weight loss. He could feel Duo's ribs as he rubbed his friend's back. He would have to ask Heero if there had been any nausea and how long had it been occurring. Too long a bout of nausea could cause other complications, including dehydration. Depending on what had caused the vomiting, there were several things he could do to treat it. He could even make a drip to insert directly into one of Duo's veins to introduce fluid directly into Duo's system. In fact, if he was nauseous, if would probably be a better way to introduce some medicines in the same way.

He sighed again, wishing that his sister was here, but she was gone like the rest of his people. She would have been infinitely better at dealing with this than he was, for she'd had the years of training and experience to fall back on. He had only the few things he had learned while helping her, usually against his wishes. He hoped that it was enough and wished that he had paid more attention to what she had done, not fretted about being taken away from his games.

He began making a mental list of the things he would need, some of which he would probably have to return to the city to get. He never even considered Heero refusing to allow him to treat Duo. All he concentrated on was how he could make Duo well again. And he knew, that with the right tools and herbs, he could make Duo well again.


	53. Chapter Fifty One

Golden Lights Part Fifty One

By SilverLady

Quatre was still mentally preparing lists of what he would need in his head, his fingers twitching unconsciously with the need to write things down, when the door to the room opened.

He noted the way Heero immediately looked towards the figure lying on the bed and braced himself to argue with Heero about allowing him to try and make Duo better.

Taking a deep breath he rose to his feet and bowed to the two men. "Master. Lord Heero. I hope everything is all right."

Trowa looked at his blonde slave. "The knife wasn't Duo's. It was similar but not the same."

"She lied, Master?"

"Yes."

"I am glad of that. I had feared that she had found a way to steal it, even though she did not get the chance to use it as she claimed."

Heero barely glanced at the blonde as he brushed past him and settled on the bed next to Duo. Reaching out he began stroking the long braid that lay on the bed beside the sleeping form. "When are you leaving?" he asked, his tone indicating that he didn't particularly care when that was.

Trowa frowned. He knew that Heero was very concerned about Duo, but he had hoped that his friend would not mind if they remained here to help.

Quatre turned. "He was awake for a few moments, Lord Heero."

Heero looked up in surprise. "He was?"

"Yes. He… he made me promise that I would stay here until he was well. He thinks you should not be alone." He looked at the man asleep in the bed. "I do not know what you have done for him, but…" Quatre paused for a moment. "I do not mean to intrude, but I want to help. My people had several cures for ills of the lungs, which were a common occurrence. I can tell that he is having a great difficulty in breathing because of fluid in the lungs. I know of several treatments that will ease his breathing and help to get rid of the fluid. I also know of ways to introduce medicines and fluids into the body when the person cannot keep them down normally."

Heero glared at the blonde. "What makes you think that you can do any better than the doctors that have already been here? They said they could help but they've only made things worse."

"I feared as much. They do not know with what they deal with. My mother and eldest sister were healers for my clan and taught me much of what they knew. As I said, aliments of the lungs were common among my people. During the Delmin there were many days were it would rain without end. Plus we would seek shelter in the caves up in the mountains that were often cold and damp, making colds even worse. So over many years the healers developed ways to treat these ailments. They have become very fine tuned and work quite well. I would like to try them on Duo. I think they will help where other treatments have failed."

He looked Heero straight in the eye as he talked; trying to convey all the confidence he could into the look. He knew that Heero would reject his plea if he showed any sign of doubt or weakness.

Heero glared at Quatre as he gathered Duo's sleeping form to him. Could he trust the blonde to know what he was doing? If well trained doctors seemed unable to help his ailing lover, what made one mere slip of a boy think he could do anything? But as he listened to Duo's labored breathing he knew that he would do anything to save him, even trust a foreign slave's word. "You think your potions can work?"

"I have seen them work in the past. Yes, I think they can help. If you trust me to do what I need to do."

Heero looked over at Trowa. "If you fail, I will make you regret ever laying eyes upon me."

Trowa nodded ever so slightly at the statement. If something were to happen to Duo he would not try to stop Heero from meting out whatever punishment he demanded, no matter what he felt about the blonde personally. This was between them.

"I understand."

"I'll give you five days."

Quatre nodded. Hopefully he wouldn't need that many days to bring about an improvement. "Only if it is understood that you do not expect him to be fully recovered in that amount of time. He has been sick for a while. Even the Great One would be hard pressed to make him completely well in that time."

"As long as I see signs of improvement."

"And you will not interfere with what I do. Some of the treatments can be a bit rough for those who are not familiar with them."

Heero glared. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"One thing that must be down is that we have to get him to expel the fluid in his lungs. There is a treatment for that but it will seem…. Painful. He will have to breathe in a mist of special herbs that with loosen the mucus in his lungs and cause him to cough. The coughing will help expel the mucus but it can be a rough, painful process."

Heero looked down at Duo. He'd done enough coughing already, in his opinion.

"I would not do it if it was not necessary."

"What else are you going to do?"

"My sister taught me a poultice that can be spread on the chest. It will help ease the irritation and also help to loosen the mucus. Plus I know of a way to get medicine and fluid into his body without him having to swallow it. I would say by the look of him he's not been eating properly."

"He started throwing everything up after the last doctor gave him some medicine."

Quatre nodded. "There is a danger of him becoming too dehydrated if the nausea continues. A body needs water as well as food in order to continue functioning. I can insert a hollow needle into the vein in his arm that is attached to a tube. The other end of the tube is attached to a bag of water and medicine. As long as it is carefully watched there is no danger."

Heero closed his eyes. Could he really do this? Put the life of his soul mate in this boy's hands?

Quatre stepped forward and placed his hand lightly on Duo's head. "He is my friend and I will do everything I can to make him well. I do not wish to loose him, either."

Heero looked up and saw the conviction in those blue-green eyes. "Do it. Make him well," he whispered.

"I promise."

Quatre turned to look at Trowa, who had remained near the door during the exchange. "Master, I must return to the city to get the things I need. Would you please come with me?"

Trowa saw Heero start a little at the announcement, though he had been expecting it. He doubt if Heero would have the things the blonde would need here. "Of course. The sooner we go the sooner we can get back."

Heero nodded slightly. "Take two of my horses. They'll be fresh."

"Thank you." Quatre bowed to Heero before heading for the door.

Trowa was about to follow when Heero called his name. Turning, he looked at the two figures in the bed. He hoped that Quatre knew what the hell he was doing. "Yes?"

Heero reached over and pulled a bag from the bedside dresser. "Take this and use it to buy the things he needs." He tossed the bag at Trowa, who caught it deftly. "And…"

"We'll be back as quickly as we can," Trowa promised. Turning he followed the blond from the room.

Heero sighed as he held Duo tighter. "Please don't let me have just made the biggest mistake of my life."

Trowa watched in amazement as the blonde slave blew through the bazaar, gathering the things he wanted and haggling fiercely over the price. He had thought the boy had been quick and efficient when preparing for the trip they had made, but it was nothing compared to the whirlwind that he had apparently brought back to the city with him. Even though Trowa thought some of the shops they had stopped at had seemed like strange places to get medicines; Quatre seemed to know exactly what he wanted and wasted no time in procuring those things.

What had surprised him was that Quatre had asked to stop to the office of the doctor that had treated Duo while in the city. He had not explained his reasons, but he had come out of there with a large bag of things.

In a short amount of time they were back at the estate. Trowa was surprised that Quatre didn't head straight for the master bedroom, but for the kitchen instead.

Rummaging through the packages of purchase Quatre pulled out a small bag. Turning he handed it to Trowa. "Go upstairs and see that there is a fire going in the room. Place this bag in fire and don't mind if it starts to smoke. I'll be up soon."

Trowa blinked but nodded. Heero had agreed to let Quatre do what he wanted and Trowa wasn't about to argue.

"And don't open the windows," Quatre called after him.

Remembering the glare and lecture he had gotten for bursting into the room before, Trowa knocked and waited for Heero to tell him to enter.

He was surprised to find the two, not in the large bed, but sitting in a chair near the fire. With a slight sigh he moved across the room and tossed the small bag in the fire as he had been told.

"What the hell was that?" Heero demanded.

"Don't have any idea. He told me to put it on the fire and not to mind if it smoked a bit." Almost as if on cue the bag began to smoke, sending an interesting smell into the room.

"You didn't take very long."

"Well, the blonde whirlwind is a sight to behold. Those vendors never knew what hit them. He blew through there so damn fast I swear he didn't even leave tracks."

"Where is he?"

"He headed for the kitchen. He didn't say why, so don't ask."

"Do you think…?"

Trowa heard the unasked question. "He certainly seems to know what he's doing. I do know that sometimes the simple remedies are the best. And if they've been dealing with this for as long as he implied then hopefully they've gotten it right." Trowa looked at the sleeping figure in Heero's lap. "Has he been awake?"

"Not really. He does seem to breathe a little better like this but…. I don't know. He barely even knows I'm here anymore."

Before Trowa could say anything Quatre came into the room, carrying several bags and a large bowl. The bowl he sat on the hearth next to the fire and the bags he brought with him.

Heero watched silently as he pulled several lengths of metal pole from one of the bags and began to set it up.

Quatre had decided to stop to the doctor in the city and see if had heard of the method of helping get fluids into the body. To his great relief, the man knew exactly what Quatre was talking about and had all the equipment he would need. He'd even given Quatre a quick lesson on how to do it right, something Quatre was grateful for even as he assured himself that he had remembered everything correctly.

Working quickly he set up the stand next to the chair. For now, Duo would be fine where he was. It only took him a moment to get the bag of fluid set up and ready, something else the doctor had given him. These bags of ready made fluid were much better than the ones his sister had used.

Giving Heero a small, confident smile, Quatre carefully pushed back the sleeve on Duo's night shirt, exposing the arm. After determining where the vein was, he carefully slid the hollow needle into it. After taping it down to insure that it didn't move, he carefully attached the piece of tubing to it and prepared the drip, being careful to see that there were no air bubbles in the tube.

After he was certain he had done everything correctly he stepped away. "Don't let him move that arm around too much or he'll pull the needle out."

Heero eyed the strange contraption with trepidation, but nodded slightly. He had agreed to this.

Quatre smiled to himself as he turned to the bowl he'd left by the fire. _Please Great One, beloved sister, ancestors, guide my hands. Lend me your knowledge, so that I may make my friend well again. Give these simple herbs the power to rid him of his sickness and let him heal. It is not his time to take the Great Journey, for I know there is still much for him to do. Bless me and answer my humble pleadings. Grant me the strength to prevail._


End file.
